[Dialogue] [Fwd: [IP] Real ID = National ID]

[Ed Reames]

*Your papers, please
*
forwarded without comment

Ed Reames
La Rivera de Belén

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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[IP] Real ID = National ID
Date: 	Wed, 4 May 2005 11:12:58 -0400
From: 	David Farber <dave at farber.net>
Reply-To: 	dave at farber.net
To: 	Ip <ip at v2.listbox.com>
References: 	<6.2.0.14.2.20050504110356.02c9fab8 at exch2.aclu.org>



Begin forwarded message:

From: Barry Steinhardt <bsteinhardt at aclu.org>
Date: May 4, 2005 11:05:11 AM EDT
To: dave at farber.net
Subject: Real ID = National ID


Dave,


Congressional passage of the "Real ID" legislation is now all but a  
done deal, House and Senate conferees having agreed to inclusion of  
language in an appropriations bill that is all but certain to pass.

The name "Real ID" is, if anything, too modest.  Despite deep public  
opposition over the years to a national identity card, and Congress's  
unwillingness to even consider the idea directly, our security  
agencies have now gotten what they want as proponents have succeeded  
in pushing through Congress a National ID-in-disguise.
The "Real ID" Act is indeed a real (national) ID.  Although  
individual states' driver's licenses may continue to exhibit cosmetic  
differences, they will now contain a standardized set of information  
collected by all 50 states, which means that underneath each state's  
pretty designs they are really a single standardized national card -  
backed up not only by biometrics, but also by a standardized "machine- 
readable zone" and by a national database of ID information.  Local  
DMV offices may continue to appear to be state offices, but they will  
now become agents acting on behalf of the federal government, charged  
with issuing a national identity document without which one will be  
unable to function in America.
National database creates powerful tracking tool. Real ID requires  
the states to link their databases together for the mutual sharing of  
data from these IDs.  This is, in effect, a single seamless national  
database, available to all the states and to the federal government.   
(The fact that the database is a distributed one, maintained on  
interconnected servers in the separate states, makes no difference.)
National database creates security risks. The creation of a single  
interlinked database creates a one-stop shop for identity thieves and  
terrorists who want to assume an American's identity.  The security  
problems with creating concentrated databases has recently been  
demonstrated by the rampant number of data breaches in recent months  
in which information held by commercial database companies has fallen  
into the hands of identity thieves or others.  The government's  
record at information security is little better and that is  
especially true at state Motor Vehicle Departments that have  
routinely been the targets of both insider and outsider fraud and  
just plain larceny.
The "machine-readable zone" paves the way for private-sector  
piggybacking.  Our new IDs will have to make their data available  
through a "common machine-readable technology."  That will make it  
easy for anybody in private industry to snap up the data on these  
IDs.  Bars swiping licenses to collect personal data on customers  
will be just the tip of the iceberg as every retailer in America  
learns to grab that data and sell it to Choicepoint for a dime.  It  
won't matter whether the states and federal government protect the  
data - it will be harvested by the private sector, which will keep it  
in a parallel database not subject even to the limited privacy rules  
in effect for the government.
This national ID card will make observation of citizens easy but  
won't do much about terrorism.  The fact is, identity-based security  
is not an effective way to stop terrorism.  ID documents do not  
reveal anything about evil intent - and even if they did, determined  
terrorists will always be able to obtain fraudulent documents (either  
counterfeit or real documents bought from corrupt officials).
Negotiated rulemaking.  Among the any unfortunate effects of this  
legislation is that it pre-empts another process for considering  
standardized driver's licenses that was far superior.  That process  
(set in motion by the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004) included a  
"negotiated rulemaking" among interested parties - including the  
states and civil liberties groups - to create standards.  Instead,  
the worst form of rules is being imposed, with the details to be  
worked out by security officials at DHS instead of through balanced  
negotiations among affected parties.
"Your papers, please."  In the days after 9/11, President Bush and  
others proclaimed that we must not let the terrorists change American  
life.  It is now clear that - despite its lack of effectiveness  
against actual terrorism - we have allowed our security agencies push  
us into making a deep, far-reaching change to the character of  
American life.

Barry Steinhardt

Director Technology and Liberty Project
American Civil Liberties Union



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