• Tony Blair advocates for nationwide digital IDs and facial recognition to “defeat populism”.
• His earlier push for mandatory ID cards met with public backlash.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is urging for the UK government to introduce digital IDs and facial recognition technology across the country as part of his broader strategy to “defeat populism”. Blair’s proposal to further a nanny state, asserts that Britons “will sacrifice privacy for efficiency”, highlighting that the implementation of such technologies could assist in identifying “illegal immigrants” and mitigating “welfare fraud”.
However, critics argue that these measures carry dangerous implications, particularly the potential to mass-identify and suppress Palestine protesters.
Blair’s proposal has reignited debates over state surveillance and civil liberties.
Blair previously attempted to introduce mandatory ID cards during his tenure as Prime Minister (1997–2007), but his efforts were thwarted by significant public opposition.
Despite evading accountability for his involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Blair subsequently took on advisory roles for the Kazakh government and founded the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a neoliberal think tank that advocates for policy reforms in governance and technology.
The Lancet journal in 2006 estimated that between 2003 and 2006, 654,965 Iraqi’s were murdered at the hands of USA and the Blair Government.
