AAP FactCheck – The United Kingdom has not threatened to seize babies from parents who refuse to sign their children up for a digital ID scheme, despite social media claims.

While British tabloid The Daily Mail recently reported¹ on cabinet talks about extending digital ID to babies, it is not UK government policy and there are no suggestions that officials are threatening to seize children under a mandatory scheme.

The UK government announced plans² for a mandatory digital ID scheme for right-to-work checks last year to curb illegal employment. However, it has since said the scheme won’t be compulsory.

The false claims have spread across Facebook and Instagram.

A widely shared Instagram video³ posted on January 6 shows a man describing the purported policy.

It includes a partially cropped caption suggesting the digital ID scheme is mandatory for newborns and that the UK government will seize children if parents don’t comply.

“They’re literally saying if you have a child and you don’t get them a digital ID then they will take your child,” the Instagram user says in the video.

“The nerve that these people have to say that they will do that is absolutely astonishing and the sad thing is that so many people are gonna fall for it.”

The cropped caption in the Instagram video matches one contained in a viral Facebook post⁴ from January 4 that claimed the UK announced digital ID for babies.

“UK plans mandatory digital ID for newborn parents who refuse face jail and child seizure,” the caption reads.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to introduce a digital ID system in September last year, with the government originally saying⁵ it will be required for right-to-work checks.

However, in January media reports said⁶ digital ID will not necessarily be mandatory for employment, but that existing ID requirements will be moved online by 2029.

This means people will still be able to use documents like passports for right-to-work checks, but they will need to upload them to the internet, according to a BBC report.⁷

The government hasn’t unveiled plans to expand the scheme to newborns, though a report in The Daily Mail⁸ on January 1 cited an unnamed source saying that proposal was discussed in a cabinet meeting.

There was no suggestion in the story that the government discussed seizing the children of parents who refused to sign their babies up to an expanded digital ID.

A government spokesperson told the tabloid it only proposed mandatory digital ID for right-to-work checks and in a hypothetical situation where children may be able to obtain digital ID, it would not be mandatory.

AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network⁹. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads¹⁰, X, BlueSky¹¹, TikTok¹² and YouTube¹³.

AAP FactCheck – The Albanese government has not made any changes to the citizenship oath or removed the requirement that it be recited at ceremonies, despite claims online.

New citizens are still required to take the oath, also known as a pledge of commitment to Australia, at citizenship ceremonies.

The false claim appears in a January 26 Facebook post¹.

“Albanese started chipping away at our culture and country the moment he formed government, by standing in front of three flags,” the post reads.

“Today, he eroded it further by allowing new citizens to not take an oath to Australia.”

The Facebook user cites an X post² as the source of the claim.

The pledge of commitment was introduced in 1993 by the Keating government under the Australian Citizenship Amendment Act³, and came into effect in January 1994.

The legislation repealed the oath of allegiance, which required citizens to swear allegiance to the Commonwealth monarch at the time and their heirs and successors, and replaced it with a pledge of commitment to Australia.

It reads: “From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.”

People can choose to repeat a version that omits “under God”.

Individuals who attend a ceremony to become Australian citizens are still required to take this pledge.

It is a legal requirement and citizenship does not become official until it is recited, according to the Home Affairs website⁴.

The pledge must be made by everyone who was aged 16 and over at the time they applied to become a citizen.

However, the Citizenship Act outlines exemptions⁵, including for those with a permanent physical or mental incapacity, and for those born to a former Australian citizen (section 26).

These settings have not changed under the Albanese government.

A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs pointed AAP FactCheck to the department’s website⁶, which states the pledge is still required by law.

AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network⁷. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads⁸, X, BlueSky⁹, TikTok¹⁰ and YouTube¹¹.