ROOKE: UK’s Digital Dystopia Is A Warning For America — But Some Are Treating It Like A Roadmap
'U.S. and U.K. tech firms in enabling the surveillance'
Britain’s Big Brother ID law is the globalist dream for America
On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood at the podium at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London and made an announcement that should send a chill down the spine of anyone who loves liberty. By the end of this Parliament, he promised, every worker in the U.K. will be required to hold a “free-of-charge” digital ID. Without it, Britons will not be able to work.
No digital ID, no job.
The government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.
Starmer framed this as a commonsense response to poverty, climate change, and illegal immigration. He claimed Britain cannot solve these problems without “looking upstream” and tackling root causes. But behind the rhetoric lies a policy that shifts power away from individuals and places it squarely in the hands of government.
Solving the problem they created
This is progressivism in action. Leaders open their borders, invite in mass illegal immigration, and refuse to enforce their own laws. Then, when public frustration boils over, they unveil a prepackaged “solution” — in this case, digital identity — that entrenches government control.
Britain isn’t the first to embrace this system. Switzerland recently approved a digital ID system. Australia already has one. The World Economic Forum has openly pitched digital IDs as the key to accessing everything from health care to bank accounts to travel. And once the infrastructure is in place, digital currency will follow soon after, giving governments the power to track every purchase, approve or block transactions, and dictate where and how you spend your money.
All of your data — your medical history, insurance, banking, food purchases, travel, social media engagement, tax information — would be funneled into a centralized database under government oversight.
The fiction of enforcement
Starmer says this is about cracking down on illegal work. The BBC even pressed him on the point, asking why a mandatory digital ID would stop human traffickers and rogue employers who already ignore national insurance cards. He had no answer.
Bad actors will still break the law. Bosses who pay sweatshop wages under the table will not suddenly check digital IDs. Criminals will not line up to comply. This isn’t about stopping illegal immigration. If it were, the U.K. would simply enforce existing laws, close the loopholes, and deport those working illegally.
Instead, the government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.
Control masked as compassion
This is part of an old playbook. Politicians claim their hands are tied and promise that only sweeping new powers will solve the crisis. They selectively enforce laws to maintain the problem, then use the problem to justify expanding control.
RELATED: Europe pushes for digital ID to help 'crack down' on completely unrelated problems
If Britain truly wanted to curb illegal immigration, it could. It is an island. The Channel Tunnel has clear entry points. Enforcement is not impossible. But a digital ID allows for something far more valuable to bureaucrats than border security: total oversight of their own citizens.
The American warning
Think digital ID can’t happen here? Think again. The same arguments are already echoing in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration is out of control. Progressives know voters are angry. When the digital ID pitch arrives, it will be wrapped in patriotic language about fairness, security, and compassion.
But the goal isn’t compassion. It’s control — of your movement, your money, your speech, your future.
We don’t need digital IDs to enforce immigration law. We need leaders with the courage to enforce existing law. Until then, digital ID schemes will keep spreading, sold as a cure for the very problems they helped create.
Want more from Glenn Beck? Get Glenn's FREE email newsletter with his latest insights, top stories, show prep, and more delivered to your inbox.
Digital ID mandate FORCED on UK citizens is a warning to America
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that the U.K. will force all workers to have a digital ID, which he claimed is a tool to help crack down on out-of-control immigration. But Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck is well aware that’s not the real purpose of the digital ID — and that Americans need to watch out for this kind of government response to similar issues.
“This government will make a new, free-of-charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament. Let me spell that out. You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID,” Starmer said, addressing U.K. citizens.
“It’s as simple as that. Because decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them. And, of course, the truth is we won’t solve our problems if we don’t also take on the root causes,” he continued.
“Looking upstream to tackle poverty, conflict, climate change, issues that aren’t just intolerable for those of us who care about inequality and injustice where it’s found in the world, but which have clear consequences for our own citizens,” he added.
Glenn sees right through Starmer's attempt to explain the dystopian system away.
“They have a problem in England with people coming across the water and just invading the country. And then they’re taking all the jobs from, you know, decent Brits. And they haven’t stopped them, you know, they’re welcoming them in. They’re not turning them away. They’re not sending them back home or anything,” he says.
Instead of turning immigrants away or sending them back to solve the problem of illegal immigration, they’re implementing the digital ID.
“This is the way progressivism works. They create the idea and then they cause the problem so that they can go back and say, ‘We need to do this to solve this problem.’ OK? So they’ve caused the problem of illegal immigration. They’ve caused the problem of all of these things happening on their streets. But don’t worry, they’ve already designed the answer and it’s a digital ID,” Glenn says.
And what’s more worrisome, Glenn explains, is that the digital ID will “have complete control and oversight of your entire life.”
“They want digital ID to control the population. That’s what all of this is about. Control your every movement, your every thought, your every word. Control it, regulate it, and make sure that you’re kept in line,” he adds.
Want more from Glenn Beck?
To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
UK government makes digital ID mandatory to get a job: 'Safer, fairer and more secure'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that digital ID will become mandatory in order to be employed in the United Kingdom.
The new ID is part of a government plan to allegedly help fight illegal immigration. The idea is that illegal employment is what is attracting many migrants to make the treacherous trip across the English Channel to move to the U.K.
'You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID.'
Starmer said the IDs would not only make it more difficult to work in the U.K. illegally but that it would offer "countless benefits" to citizens. The BBC reported that senior minister Darren Jones claimed the IDs could also be "the bedrock of the modern state."
The prime minister made the announcement at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London on Friday, stating, "Our immigration system does need to be fair if we want to maintain that binding contract that our politics is built on."
Starmer continued, "And that is why today I am announcing this government will make a new, free of charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament. Let me spell that out: You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID."
"It's as simple as that," the leader sternly stated, before making a moral argument. "Because decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them. And, of course, the truth is, we won't solve our problems if we don't also take on the root causes."
RELATED: Europe pushes for digital ID to help 'crack down' on completely unrelated problems
The knighted leader continued to claim that the move was an attempt by the government to have "control over its borders."
"We do need to know who is in our country," Starmer added.
"It is not compassionate left-wing politics to rely on labor that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages."
Jonathan Brash, a member of parliament from Hartlepool and politician in Starmer's party, said that it was important to "explode the myths and conspiracy theories being spread on Digital ID."
"It will make our country safer, fairer and more secure," Brash said on his X page, along with an image of a political poster that said the same.
RELATED: Trump's new AI Action Plan reveals our digital manifest destiny
— (@)
"This is a battle for freedom," English reporter Lewis Brackpool told Blaze News. "Liberalism is to blame. This attitude of 'live and let live' caused this freedom-robbing policy. It's time for Brits to take a stand."
Brackpool called for peaceful resistance while pointing to his work with Restore Britain, which has already begun investigating the government's intentions behind the project.
"The British public deserves full transparency on Digital ID drifting into surveillance and financial control," he wrote on X.
In early September, Blaze News reported that both French President Emmanuel Macron and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair were urging Starmer to consider making digital IDs mandatory.
The Daily Mail reported that Blair was pushing the idea in backroom conversations, continuing his early-2000s attempt to push the IDs on the country's citizenry.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Europe pushes for digital ID to help 'crack down' on completely unrelated problems
European leaders are pushing for the implementation of digital identification.
Specifically, both French President Emmanuel Macron and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair have urged sitting U.K. PM Keir Starmer to consider making digital IDs mandatory.
'The same playbook is being used as a justification for broader powers to the establishment.'
Starmer is under pressure from English activists to stem illegal immigration, with illegal transport by sea from France being the primary focus. For this reason, Macron said he wants Starmer to address the "pull factors" that are allegedly attracting illegal immigrants to the U.K.
Apparently, digital ID would be the best way to do that, according to the French president.
As reported by the Independent, a compulsory national ID card is being considered by the U.K.'s highest office.
"We're willing to look at what works when it comes to tackling illegal migration, ... in terms of applications of digital ID to the immigration system," the prime minister's spokesman said.
"The point here is looking at what works, ensuring that we're doing what we can to address some of the drivers of illegal migration, tackle those pull factors, ensure that we're doing everything we can to crack down on illegal working," the spokesman added, echoing Macron's reasoning.
Simultaneously, a push factor is coming internally from former U.K. leader Blair, who actually tried the scheme before during his third term as prime minister.
RELATED: UK police face wave of backlash over live facial recognition tech at carnival
The Daily Mail reported that Blair was pushing the idea behind the scenes, continuing his attempt from the early 2000s to enforce the mandatory digital ID.
"In 2005, there was a huge vote which unfortunately was narrowly passed for ID cards in order to crack down on crime," Lewis Brackpool, director of investigations at Restore Britain, told Blaze News. "Many ministers were incredibly skeptical on this move due to its ever increasing powers to the state."
Brackpool cited a 2004 BBC report that criticized the IDs as a "badly thought out" excuse to fight organized crime and terrorism. It noted then that plans for the cards included biometric data that carried fingerprints and iris scans, and would have become compulsory in 2013. The plan was abandoned in 2010.
The Englishman continued, "Now, 20 years on, the same playbook is being used as a justification for broader powers to the establishment. Tony Blair is somewhere in his evil lair rubbing his hands and cackling; his career ambition is coming to fruition."
RELATED: YouTube admits to secretly manipulating videos with AI
The implementation of digital ID is straight from the playbook of the World Economic Forum, the yearly gathering of world elites where globalist policy is discussed and planned.
Seven years before the WEF broadcasted its report on reimagining digital ID and before its ideas became globally criticized, it published "A Blueprint for Digital Identity" in 2016.
The report boasted of the Aadhaar program, a government initiative from India that was implemented in order to "increase social and financial inclusion" for Indians. The Unique Identification Authority of India holds a database of user information "such as name, date of birth, and biometrics data that may include a photograph, fingerprint, iris scan, or other information."
Over 1 billion Indians have enrolled in the program for the 12-digit identity number, and it continues today.
As for England, "It is not a reasonable solution," Brackpool says. "It is the very thing many concerned British citizens and campaigners have been warning about for years down the line."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
North Carolina Elections Board Agrees To Prohibit Digital Voter IDs
North Carolina’s elections board confirmed it will not accept digital IDs as a valid form of voter identification in elections on Friday. During a video conference, the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) read through details of its court settlement with the Republican National Committee and the state GOP over a lawsuit the latter […]China's new digital ID system is for your own privacy and safety
China's state-run digital identification system will protect internet users from online companies, fraudsters, and criminals that wish to access their information. Instead, it will give it all to the government.
China has already implemented a "real-name registration" system for the better part of a decade that allows companies to know exactly who is shopping, playing video games, or commenting on their platforms.
Now, the communist government is looking to completely invert that system and is claiming it wants to give the power of privacy back to the citizen.
'Truly feel "security is within reach" while enjoying convenience.'
The National Online Identity Authentication app is to "protect the information security of citizens," the government says, and what better way to do that than hand over all of one's data to the CCP in one convenient place.
In order to apply for the unique internet identification number — essentially a username made up of letters and numbers — Chinese nationals will need to provide a trove of documents.
According to the Library of Congress, this includes resident ID cards, passport (if residing overseas), travel passes, and/or permanent resident ID cards for foreigners. The Washington Post reported that registration also includes a face scan.
In exchange, the users will get their own login credentials and a "network identity authentication certificate that carries the network number and non-clear-text identity information of a natural person."
Chinese companies will be forced to comply too.
RELATED: Chinese nationals on student visas allegedly ripped off elderly Americans in nasty scheme
The Chinese government explained that while the new online ID remains voluntary, any internet service provider or website may not request real user information (unless required by law) from those using the government-issued credentials.
Service providers must also ensure that users who use the authentication method have the same level of access to services as those who use their real names.
Therefore, when shopping online or visiting social media sites, companies will simply see a digital ID, making the user effectively anonymous to the online world, except for government assets.
China's state-run news agency, Xinhua, described the new program as a "protective shield" that allows the masses to "truly feel 'security is within reach' while enjoying convenience."
The Cyberspace Administration of China added that the ID system helps to "support the healthy and orderly development of the digital economy."
RELATED: China's 35 million incels face bleak future of state-run AI 'romance' — are American men next?
China's "Great Firewall" already filters internet traffic coming into the country while simultaneously blocking certain content — such as Western social media sites, for example — from its populace.
According to Newsweek, a 2017 cybersecurity law required Chinese internet users to use their real names in order to access certain digital services, like e-commerce sites and video sharing platforms.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Report: Your Bank Might Be Spying On You For The Feds
Americans should be deeply concerned that our government and financial institutions are not only spying on us but also potentially abusing their power to target Americans for their political views.Americans' privacy in jeopardy as Congress pushes digital ID task force, 3 privacy-related bills
House Democrat Rep. Bill Foster (Ill.) is part of three separate bills that push digital identification on Americans through legislation.
The Illinois congressman first announced the Improving Digital Identity Act in September 2020, stating on Twitter then that "it's time the United States catches up with the developed world on digital identity technology."
Citing the benefits of a "bipartisan" bill, Foster said it had become "vitally important to ramp up safeguards to protect against identity theft and fraud " so that businesses and consumers could have confidence in their online transactions.
In a bipartisan manner, members of Congress appear to be collecting evidence to bolster their argument for why digital identification should be required.
Apparently, this can only be done through digital ID.
Foster has been relentless about this bill, reintroducing it in 2021 and again in 2024, Reclaim the Net reported.
According to Foster's website, the bill asks for the creation of a Digital Identity Task Force made up of federal, state, and local representatives. The task force would develop methods for government agencies to "validate" and "protect" the identities of individuals online, including "tools for verification."
This, of course, means government-issued digital IDs and government-operated verification programs.
The task force would also determine whether a "fee-based model" for verification programs would be required.
The bill, H.R.4258, comes with an estimated $50 million price tag over five years to develop the digital ID. It was originally co-sponsored by 10 Democrats and three Republicans, including Georgia's Barry Loudermilk (R), Rhode Island's James Langevin (D), and New York Rep. John Katko (R).
— (@)
In September 2024, Foster introduced another digital ID bill to "establish a Government-wide approach to improving digital identity, and for other purposes."
The text for H.R. 9783 had yet to be submitted at the time of this publication.
In June 2024, Foster co-sponsored Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins' bill on the same topic.
H.R. 8658, the Emerging Digital Identity Ecosystem Report Act of 2024, asked for a report from TSA on "digital identity ecosystems."
The report will include the benefits and risks of digital identities as they relate to homeland security in the United States.
Bipartisanly, members of Congress appear to be collecting evidence to bolster their argument for requiring digital identification. The most popular reasons congressmen have given in their bill texts so far are tightening national security, securing online transactions, and preventing identity theft.
Digital ID has long been a topic of discussion at the World Economic Forum, the yearly event where society's elites meet to decide which policy proposals to pursue in their jurisdictions.
Since at least 2020, the WEF has advocated for a digital ID system to help society's most vulnerable members.
"A digital ID system allowed Chile rapidly to pre-enroll millions of new beneficiaries in social programs," the organization wrote.
In 2023, the WEF said it was "difficult or impossible" for the roughly 850 million people who don't have ID to "fully engage with society." This, according to the WEF, showcases a perfect reason to implement a cost-efficient, paperless ID system.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Digital ID is coming: Will Americans lose freedom in the name of security?
America was founded on liberty and rights, but Big Tech and Big Government keep trying to take them away.
The latest example comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, whose National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence is currently working to develop wide-reaching digital IDs. More specifically, NIST is collaborating with tech companies and banks to link mobile driver’s licenses with people’s finances. The broader purpose is to work toward developing a digital ID for everyone that centralizes all their personal information, supposedly to boost cybersecurity and provide more convenience for financial transactions.
The more digital ID is developed in America, the more alternatives to digital ID will become rarer, more complex to use, and, eventually, outlawed or severely restricted.
Working with various associations, the California DMV, the Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft, iLabs, MATTR, OpenID Foundation, and various large financial institutions, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, NIST has now contracted various digital identity specialist companies to implement the project.
According to NIST digital identity program lead Ryan Galluzzo, NIST’s advances are about allowing people to present ID in the most convenient and secure way possible while still allowing them to rely on traditional physical ID.
“We want to open up the use of modern digital pathways while still allowing for physical and manual methods whenever they may be necessary.”
By linking banking information with mobile driver's licenses, NIST will move one step forward to implementing a central digital ID that contains people’s private information. NIST promises that this new digital ID acceleration “will address ‘Know Your Customer/Customer Identification Program Onboarding and Access’ which will demonstrate the use of an mDL and/or Verifiable Credentials (VC) for establishing and accessing an online financial account.”
The project will move forward in three main steps. According to NIST, it will aim to standardize and promote “digital ID standards” while still respecting and maximizing “privacy and usability.” This digital ID project is currently in the build phase.
With technology that now analyzes how people walk and breathe and their irises, to identify them beyond a shadow of a doubt, and phones and GPS systems geolocating individuals at almost every moment of the day, digital ID is ripe for abuse by an authoritarian government or malicious actors. The easier it becomes for a citizen’s important data to be accessed by law enforcement, government, or bad actors, the closer we get to a digital panopticon in which citizens are constantly tracked and subject to potential suspicion while having no recourse to alternative methods of payment or identity.
This move forward linking mobile driver's licenses with banking is bigger news than it appears on the surface. While it can be easily justified and explained as necessary, innovative, and forward-thinking, the more digital ID is developed in America, the more alternatives to digital ID will become rarer, more complex to use, and, eventually, outlawed or severely restricted. What starts as an incentive or benefit all too often becomes a mandate and a requirement down the road. NIST’s moves to build up a more powerful and connected digital ID will inevitably lead to Americans becoming less free, regardless of how these policies are framed or how much of a positive spin they are given.
Today's top stories
www.theblaze.com