‘I create fake IDs of your MP so you can get round Online Safety Act’

‘It will be funny when Keir Starmer’s driving licence is leaked online,’ said Tim Knight, the creator of Use-Their-ID, a website that generates IDs of any sitting MP in response to the Online Safety Act.

Type in a postcode, and in just seconds you can get something that looks uncomfortably real – a photo, a signature, a date of birth, a home address.

Like the prime minister’s ID, all of it is fake, of course – but people are trying to use it to bypass age verification checks online.

Use-Their-ID is part prank, part protest against the controversial law, which aims to stop children from seeing harmful content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography.

Since the Online Safety Act came into effect last Friday, more than 100,000 driving licences have been generated on Knight’s website.

Explaining the idea behind it, the 39-year-old told Metro that it is ‘inevitable’ that sooner or later, there will be a major data leak and British passports and driving licences will be released online.

He added: ‘My gut reaction was, well, if the government is going to require me to send my ID all over the internet to view anything that it deems to be “adult content”, that sounds like a privacy and a security nightmare.

‘Websites that are implementing age verification checks are incentivised to do it as cheaply as possible – which means outsourcing it to a third party.

‘Then it just goes to the cheapest bidder, right? And that means that these checks will not be being done securely and safely or thoroughly.

‘[The Online Safety Act] is a disaster for privacy online, but also security… It is a big overreach from the government.’

Personal information leaks are not the only element of the process that he is worried about.

Knight said that people are ‘being cut off from a good selection of online resources’ because they are too concerned about their privacy to upload their IDs.

He pointed to website like Spotify, which now forces ID checks before its users can listen to music with explicit lyrics.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has said that unless the website is made exempt, it would likely be barred under the law.

‘All sorts of websites – like suicide prevention resources, so not the porn sites that the government is talking about – are building verification checks,’ the creator said.

‘They are suddenly having to build walls to keep out children. And we are also seeing websites around the internet blocking UK traffic altogether.

‘So we are just being cut off from a good selection of resources on the internet.’

It is not just Knight who is protesting the Online Safety Act. Only a week since it was enforced, nearly 500,000 people signed a petition asking for it to be repealed.

In response, the government said it had ‘no plans’ to scrap it. Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, said that those who want it gone are ‘on the side of predators’.

Like Knights, critics argue that the legislation is too vague and far-reaching.

He added: ‘MPs seem to have come up with this legislation based on their gut feeling – and not really listening to experts.

‘The entire tech industry – and I do not just mean American social media companies – are all face-palming right now at how silly the legislation is.

‘It has turned the UK into a bit of a laughing stock.’

Knight created Use-Their ID as a ‘joke’. He thought it would be ‘funny when the inevitable data leaks do happen and MP’s ID cards show up’ online.

As a software engineer, he builds web applications for a living, so he does ‘actually know about the security side of things’.

In the last week, people have praised his site, describing it as an ‘excellent use of his skills’.

Comments from supporters read ‘thank you immensely’ and ‘thank you for caring’, with one of them saying: ‘Thank you so much for the ID website, it is both bloody funny and an excellent idea.

‘Best of luck if anyone comes after you.’

A spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology told Metro: The law is clear: platforms must not promote ways to circumvent requirements of the Act , and those who fall short will face serious enforcement action.

‘Ofcom is already assessing platform compliance to ensure robust safeguards are in place to prevent circumvention, and investigations are underway into 37 sites.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.