Uk Rolls Back Digital Id For Work Checks As Privacy Fears Drive... (2026)

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped plans to make digital ID mandatory for workers after a backlash over “Orwellian” surveillance fears.

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has dropped plans to make a centralized digital ID mandatory for workers, softening a flagship policy that would have required every employee to prove their right to work via a government‑issued credential rather than traditional documents like passports.

The move follows months of backlash from critics, including UK Member of Parliament Rupert Lowe, Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage and other cross‑party politicians, civil liberties groups and campaigners.

Opponents warned it risked building an “Orwellian nightmare,” centralizing sensitive data in a honeypot vulnerable to hacking, and mission creep into areas such as housing, banking and voting.

Almost three million people signed a parliamentary petition opposing digital ID cards. Lowe celebrated the policy shift in a video on X, saying he was off for “a very large drink to celebrate the demise of mandatory Digital ID,” while Farage said it was “a victory for individual liberty against a ghastly, authoritarian government.”

Officials now say digital right‑to‑work checks will remain mandatory, but when the UK’s digital ID scheme is introduced around 2029, it will be offered on an optional basis alongside alternative electronic documentation, rather than being imposed as the only route to employment verification.

Related: Digital ID, CBDCs risk turning US into ‘surveillance state,’ lawmaker says

As the UK softens its stance, the European Union is moving ahead with its own digital identity framework and digital euro plans, but has explored using zero‑knowledge proofs so citizens can prove attributes (such as age or residency) without exposing all underlying personal data.

Related: Concordium debuts app for anonymous online age checks amid UK rules backlash

Source: CoinTelegraph