Will industry rescue the identity card?

There's a serious issue for debate right now.  Simon Davies of Privacy International is getting a hard time in various parts of the blogsphere because he told IT Week that “I’ve believed for some months that a ‘white knight’ consortium from industry is needed.  Companies that can see the benefits of the ID card idea should approach the government about effectively taking over the project.”

Technorati Tags: ID cards

Why is he being criticised for this?  There are plenty of people around (eg, me) who have long argued that the ID card debate had turned sterile: black or white, you were either for it or against it.  But surely many people are in the middle: in favour of some form of ID scheme, but not the current one.  As I've said before, a properly implemented ID card could enhance privacy. The government wants an ID card and their current plan has gone of the rails.  So does the digital identity community bathe in schadenfreude or do something about it?  Simon is right.  If you don't like what's being proposed for the ID card then propose something better.