NO2ID

06/08/2026

Ever wondered how easy it would be for a third party to influence what an AI Chatbot tells you?

Well Time Magazine is publishing webpages designed for AI crawlers, potentially influencing what ChatGPT and Claude tell millions of users. These pages can also feed AI specific adverts meaning that if users ask about products and services the result may be influenced by the adverts. It's unclear how widespread this is beyond Time Magazine, but we can expect it to become increasingly common.

One obvious issue is whether malign actors such as hostile states could use similar tactics to influence what Chatbots tell us.

Brands are already paying to influence what chatbots say about them

21/07/2026

Burnham is to cut VAT on electricity bills using savings from the Digital ID program. Darren Jones and others are claiming that the money isn't actually there because the money hasn't been assigned in government accounts.

Anybody with experience in this field will know that such costs are "laundered" to make it as difficult as possible identify the true cost. This is because if the true costs was known, defending the billions that Digital ID would cost would be a politically unsustainable. We encountered the same issues with Blair's ID cards where government predicted costs for the system were a fraction of the costs identified by independent analysts.

So, yes, the money for Digital ID is real and can be redirected to tax cuts.

19/07/2026

Burnham scrapping Digital ID cards is good news and a small victory for us. We say small because no announcements have been made about other digital identity architecture which will still be in place such as:

One Login
Companies House digital identity verification
Digital right-to-work checks
NHS Login and Single Patient Records

Plus the IT systems that link all these databases together allowing the Government to build up a picture of your life will still exist and continue to be developed.

So, yes a small victory, but the fight against Digital ID and surveillance goes on.

Incoming prime minister emphasises cost-of-living policies, with free buses for young people and cuts to energy bills

06/07/2026

This isn't surprising. Public support for ideas like ID cards often seems strong at first because the benefits superficially sound simple and appealing. But once people understand the real risks, that support quickly fades. That’s why groups like NO2ID matter, as we provide the context and scrutiny to Government surveillance proposals that our politicians won’t provide.

Ipsos poll finds seven in 10 back age rules but figure drops to half when all adults must upload personal data

05/07/2026

A quick reminder of why we don't want Digital ID and especially Digital ID run by the Government, given their inability to protect their own IT systems.

Credentials for Foreign Office and council staff being offered on dark web for more than £40,000

03/07/2026

Well, here is a blast from the (recent) past. Pegasus software which back in 2021 was exposed as being used for mass spying on politicians, journalists, human right activists etc. is still being used for such purposes. Hardly surprising given that all a state needs is the money to pay for the software licence, while knowing that there will be no sanctions for illegal and unethical use.

Researchers say Stelios Kouloglou’s device was compromised after he joined European parliamentary committee

30/06/2026

Another case of debanking. This time it's a left-wing media organisation and demonstrates that the threat from this type of action can affect people and organisations of any persuasion.

On social media it hasn't gone unnoticed that in 2020 the Canary declared: "‘Cancel culture’ is a myth. So is the idea that the political right is under siege".

Lloyds slammed by the Canary for allegedly “withholding a substantial amount of our money” and debanking them after nearly a decade of use.

26/06/2026

An excellent video report from Which? on ANPR and the issues with it.

As pointed out in the video ANPR has an accuracy rate of ca. 97%, which sound impressive but equates to around 2 million misreads a day. (The same issue also applies to facial recognition technology: even a small error rate can produce a huge number of false matches when systems operate at scale).

One of the biggest problems is the lack of meaningful consequences for operators when their systems get it wrong. They may lose an appeal against an incorrect parking charge, but they were never entitled to that money in the first place, so there is little incentive to improve accuracy or their processes.

A suggested way of addressing the issues is to require the operators to pay compensation for successful appeals (for example, "reverse fining" where the fine amount is paid to the victim). This will encourage operators to put real effort into ensuring the accuracy of their systems and processes.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are increasingly ...

23/06/2026

In other words we won't have a free press any more, but a state approved and sanctioned one?

The UK is becoming more and more like China and Russia when it comes to state control of information.

What is also worrying is the rate at which authoritarian measures are being proposed and implemented - it's getting like the days of Tony Blair's regime when such measure were announced almost every week.

Proposals to require social media platforms to prominently display ‘trusted news’ from broadcasters

16/06/2026

NO2ID view on Kier Starmer’s plan announced yesterday to ban on social media for under 16s and the implications for us all.

The Prime Minister’s announcement of a blanket social media ban for under-16s is as blatantly opportunistic as it is clearly crafted and coordinated to distract from Labour’s far wider reaching ID …