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Most people are missing the fact that your passport in the drawer doesn't know where you are.

Once everyone is mandated to carry digital ID, then possibilities to track population open up.



Isn't this just seeing a slippery slope and deciding to build a terrace[1], in that the existence of a digital ID doesn't automatically lead to mandate to carry one—any more than the existence of a physical ID card does?

[1] to paraphrase one many excellent John McCarthy-isms: http://jmc.stanford.edu/general/sayings.html


physical ID doesn't report your location.


A physical ID can, depending on the validation process.

Digital ID doesn't have to report your location either, depending on the implementation. It's not like it's a given a digital ID system has to give your location.

An SSH key is a digital ID. Does it report your location when you use it? A GPG key can be a digital ID. Does it report your location when you sign something?




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