Half of Europeans show support for ID cards

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Most Europeans support electronic and biometric identification methods, but indecision remains, according to a study by LogicaCMG.

Over half of the 500 respondents from the pan-European study said they would voluntarily join a government biometric identity registration scheme, while 30 per cent were undecided.

While 52 per cent of those surveyed believe it should be legally compulsory to join such schemes, 21 per cent were undecided.

IT PRO reported yesterday that Home Office minister Liam Byrne believes such identification schemes will be part of everyday life in the UK by 2020.

Most of the Europeans surveyed also said they would be happy to register their own biometric data, with 83 per cent saying they would willing provide fingerprints and 66 per cent willing to give a digital photo of their eyes.

Such optimism is good news for the industry said Tim Best, director of global identity solutions at LogicaCMG. "This continued high level of acceptance is very encouraging - we are rapidly approaching a 'tipping point' where people's concerns over the technology are outweighed by their optimism," he said in a statement.

According to the study, Europeans expect biometric ID cards will prevent identity theft, make transactions with governments easier, and speed travel across borders.

However, Best warned against ignoring the concerns of the large number of undecided respondents. "A significant proportion of people remain undecided and it now falls to both the biometrics industry and those organisations that want to deploy the technology to reach out to these groups and demonstrate the benefits biometrics and electronic identity technology can bring," Best said.

Europeans are most concerned with loss of personal privacy and are afraid the information taken might be used in ways not originally intended, the study found.

"These concerns may well form the reasons why some Europeans are undecided about electronic identity technology and there needs to be clear safeguards in place to reassure people that their privacy will not be adversely affected or that their information will not be used beyond its original scope," Best said.

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