Comments on: Bizarre mystery-benefits approach by Home Office http://idealgovernment.com/2006/10/bizarre_mystery_benefits_approach_by_home_office/ What do we want from Internet-age government? Wouldn't it be better if... Wed, 14 May 2014 08:35:11 +0000 hourly 1 By: Richard S http://idealgovernment.com/2006/10/bizarre_mystery_benefits_approach_by_home_office/comment-page-1/#comment-1148 Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:41:36 +0000 http://bizarre_mystery_benefits_approach_by_home_office#comment-1148 Ah yes, the media!

Last week I replied to [url=http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39163347,00.htm]an article on Silicon.com[/url] which stated that most UK people don’t understand “Biometrics,” but are increasingly in favour of their widespread use:

My comment was heavily truncated and I got an earful from the Editor to the effect that Silicon.com doesn’t want to clear the confusion!

I must have touched a raw nerve: Elsewhere, Silicon.com has extensive information on RFID, Biometrics and on ID topics; but only for people sufficiently motivated to study it.

If the technical press and media don’t explain the issues clearly, there’s little hope for the non-technical media.

]]> By: Becky http://idealgovernment.com/2006/10/bizarre_mystery_benefits_approach_by_home_office/comment-page-1/#comment-1147 Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:45:27 +0000 http://bizarre_mystery_benefits_approach_by_home_office#comment-1147 I had an intense conversation last weekend about this with some friends of mine. They are “very non-technical people”, as they put it, and the point that kept being raised was “why should we pay for something that is not going to provide the exact benefits that we would like it to provide?”. They insist that this lack of clarity on what the card will provide only increases their sceptisism as to the real reasons the card is being introduced. They also worry about the message coming across in the media and no longer know who or what to believe, but the general consensus was that this confusion is only leading to more resistance. Several, in fact, still do not believe that the card will not expose their health, police, travel, etc records. And finally, one person said that if they are really to beleive what they are being told (implying by the government), then the card is going to provide little more than what the passport already does, so why not just expand on the passport?

(pls note: all of the above is from conversation and not necessarily my personal opinion, but I thought it very relevant to the above posting.)

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