xID

Making a modern democracy and a WellFair state work requires that we are able to identify ourselves easily. Maintaining our freedom requires us to do this carefully.

We need ID. We already have ID, we use some combination of bank details and utility bills in various circumstances to prove who we are. We have government issued IDs in the forms of Driving Licenses and Passports, some of which contain biometric data about us already.

Protection & Security

LIFE will implement a universal ID system based on the xID standards. We will include a provision in the Democracy & Freedom Bill 2015 that ensures that it is NEVER an offence not to carry an ID card or any other kind of ID object. You may not be able to access certain services without being able to identify yourself, but it will never be illegal not to identify yourself using a card or any other token.

xID is a system that allows people to identify themselves by simply knowing things about themselves, like their date of birth and their grandparents. It will also be possible to issue a basic ID card that contains very little information on it, and will only be useable in combination with information provided by the owner (like ‘chip & PIN’).

Our freedom depends on embracing and owning our ID

The modern world is digitally interconnected, and information is already being held about us by both governments and corporations. We need to have the ability to know who’s holding what information, to review it, and to challenge inaccuracies. The xID standard includes mechanisms to control who has access to the information and keeps a record of all accesses of our information. These safeguards will be included in the Democracy & Freedom Bill 2015.

Ending Warrantless Searches

xID provides strict safeguards against blanket searches without warrants. All searches must be time limited, and record the nature and issuing authority of the warrant.

Investing in Our Digital Future

Building a secure national network that connects xID Stores, enables our security and protects our private information will be a priority for infrastructure investment.

Making a secure personal cloud service a reality

As the value of being able to store our data in secure data centres becomes more and more important, it is essential that citizens have the ability to secure data about themselves in cloud storage that is truly personal and secure. We cannot go into the future dependent on corporations to provide this service.

xID will create the ability for every citizen to have personal storage that is truly secure and private. Using our xID to encrypt their own data allows us to use technology without compromising our freedom.
The xID system will allow every citizen to become their own encryption certificate authority. In this way we can mint our own certificates for our personal use. The system will require that any search warrant contains the identity of the requestor and the authorising judge, along with a specific expiration timeframe after which the log will show the details of the warrant.

Timeframe

It will take a year to draft a working xID standard for the UK.
It will take another two years to build a testing infrastructure that will allow citizens to try it out for themselves and see how it works. During this time the legal framework will be refined and the core administrative functions piloted.
By the time the next State election comes around in 2020 we will all be much better informed about how the system would operate, and we can decide whether to proceed with a full national rollout.

xID Infrastructure

A key feature of the xID design is for information to be distributed, not centralised. Where possible each Community will have their own xID Store, leveraging designs for performance optimised datacentres to create a resilient, power efficient infrastructure. Each xID Store will be connected to the national communications network providing secure, socially-owned, high-speed connectivity.
Communities that cannot reasonably have their own xID Store can partner with neighbouring Communities or use a Regional Store.