# PETITION: End the National Digital ID Programme in the Turks and Caicos Islands

 

**To:** The Hon. Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands; the Hon. Minister of Innovation, Technology and Energy; and all Members of the House of Assembly

 

We, the undersigned residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands, call on the Government to **cancel the National Digital ID Programme in its entirety** and to withdraw all public funds allocated to it.

 

In the 2026/27 budget, the Government set aside $5 million in capital spending for a National Digital ID covering every legal resident, developed with World Bank advisory support. This decision was made without meaningful public consultation, and the people of these islands have not asked for it.

 

The Turks and Caicos Islands currently has **no comprehensive data protection law**. There is no privacy law setting rules on how personal information must be stored, shared, or protected, and no independent regulator to hear complaints or punish misuse. The legislation that would govern the ID has not been published. The Government is asking the people to accept a system whose rules do not yet exist.

 

We oppose the National Digital ID for the following reasons.

 

**It puts our privacy at risk.** A single digital identity linked to our health, social security, immigration, tax, and government records concentrates an unprecedented amount of personal information in one place. Once collected, that data can never truly be taken back.

 

**It creates a single point of failure.** No government system is immune to hacking, leaks, or human error. One breach of a centralized identity database could expose every resident of these islands at once.

 

**It invites mission creep.** Systems introduced for convenience are gradually extended into banking, travel, employment, and everyday transactions. Once essential services depend on one ID, residents lose the ability to say no.

 

**It could become mandatory by the back door.** If the ID replaces the NIB card and other existing documents, residents may find they cannot work, get paid, or access services without it, even if the law never says so directly.

 

**It involves our children.** Families should not have their children enrolled in a permanent government identity system before those children are old enough to understand or consent.

 

**It is not a priority.** Millions of dollars in public funds are committed to this programme while residents face pressing needs in housing, healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

 

**We do not need it.** The people of the Turks and Caicos Islands have lived, worked, and raised families using the identification we already have. The Government has not shown why a centralized digital identity is necessary.

 

**We therefore call on the Government to:**

 

1. Cancel the National Digital ID Programme and all related procurement, contracts, and consultancy work.

2. Withdraw the $5 million allocated to the programme and redirect it to housing, healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

3. Abandon any legislation that would create a National Digital ID or a centralized identity database.

4. Keep existing forms of identification, including NIB, NHIP, and Status cards, fully valid and sufficient for all purposes.

 

**Should the Government proceed despite the objections of the people, we demand at the very minimum that:**

 

5. No resident is required to hold a digital ID to work, bank, or access healthcare, education, or government services.

6. No personal data is collected until a Data Protection Act is in force that:

   - has gone through full public consultation before being passed;

   - establishes an independent Data Protection Commissioner with the power to investigate and penalize **the Government itself**;

   - contains no broad exemptions for government agencies acting for "official purposes" or "the public interest";

   - requires residents to be promptly notified of any breach of their data; and

   - sets real penalties for misuse by any person or agency.

7. The ID is never linked to financial or banking systems.

8. Any National ID legislation is published in full and put to public consultation on every island before it is tabled in the House of Assembly.

 

The people of the Turks and Caicos Islands did not ask for a National Digital ID, and we do not consent to one. We call on our elected representatives to listen to the people they serve and end this programme.