National ID cards are being
discussed as a means of protection following the September
11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, and many are
supporting them, saying how effective they could have been
– had they been implemented prior to the attacks.
When looking at new approaches to new problems, the key question that needs
to be asked is, “Will it work?" I’m sure that
question has been asked at various levels of government,
but perhaps it needs a little more examination, such as,
“Why will it work?" and “How will it work?"
for the program to be considered in the proper
perspective.
Shooting from the hip, I see it, basically, as a panacea for those folks who
feel vulnerable, victimized, or helpless. It’s a
cure-all approach to a problem that really has no easy
answer, or, as in this case, the solution proves to be
elusive. Eleanor Roosevelt once said “no one can make
you feel inferior without your consent," but with
this program, people are learning to feel inferior –
with full consent. How? That’s the easy part. People are
being told members of al-Qaeda and other radical groups
are dangerous people, and rightly so. Propaganda for the
National ID program is being pushed as a cure for identity
fraud and theft. Supposedly, with the National ID program,
the government will better be able to track people.
The problem with tracking people – their movements, their purchases, their
identity, and their residence – goes much further than a
government-issued ID card.
In the February 1, 2002 edition
of the Washington Post, reporter Robert O’Harrow Jr.
wrote about a program that federal aviation authorities,
with the help of some technology companies, would soon
begin testing. According to the article, the new screening
system would instantly compile information about every
passenger’s travel history and living arrangements, as
well as a myriad of other personal information.
In basic, the plan would see a new computer network created, linking every
known reservation system in the U.S. to various private
and government databases. The new network, still unnamed,
would use datamining technology, combined with other
software, to compile instant profiles on each passenger,
which would, in theory, warn about potential threats
before the flight.
An example cited by O’Harrow is that the created profiles could
potentially be able to identify one man who used his
credit card to purchase tickets for himself and four
others on a flight – but all sitting in various parts of
the plane, and all having shared the same residence at
some point in time.
Could the program work? Sure it could, in theory. But what happens when you
factor in the realities of life? A man, born and raised in
the U.S., now living in Virginia, purchases two tickets
for a specific flight. Halfway across the country, in
Little Rock, Arkansas, a woman purchases a single ticket
for that same flight, and, she, too, is an American. And
over in Pocatella, Idaho, a man purchases two tickets for
that same flight, as well. Again, he, too, was born and
raised in the U.S.
Three people, five tickets, one flight. None have criminal convictions or
ties to any known terrorists. The problem? Their
identities were stolen on the computer network and no one
knows about it yet. Is it far-fetched? Not at all. Have
you heard about the problems the government is presently
trying to tackle with identity theft for credit card
purchases? This would raise the stake to a higher level.
For terrorists, it might just be a new challenge.
Over on the rec.outdoors.rv-travel newsgroup, I found Cybrgeezer asking “don’t
we already have state versions of this?"
Cybrgeezer went on, adding that “in Florida, non-drivers (i.e., people who
don't have driver's licenses) can get a state-issued ID
card, with photo, from the driver's license office. It's
for general ID, cashing checks, etc."
The interesting thing that Cybrgeezer pointed out in the posting was that
“citizenship is not required for a driver's license or
state ID, it's just to show you've proven your identity to
state officials, but it's a first step."
The idea of National ID cards isn’t new. In fact, they were used in the
former Soviet Union, but they failed. Now how do I know
that? Well, I know several Russians who have told me tales
of the problems encountered with the program, including a
few who still live in Russia. A couple of them, at times,
were even called upon to find people who “disappeared"
from sight. Mind you, this was at a time when the KGB
ruled supreme. If the program failed in the former Soviet
Union, with the KGB running things in the background, what
chance does the program for success in the U.S., honestly?
Another option for identification would be an implanted chip with personal
information embedded.
According to a February 15 report, Applied Digital Solutions offer “60
Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney the opportunity to
be one of the first people in the world to “get
chipped" - a term the company uses for having a
VeriChip identification microchip implanted.
Why did they make that offer to Rooney? Well, it goes back to his commentary
on February 10, 2002, when Rooney said, “We need some
system for permanently identifying safe people. Most of us
are never going to blow anything up, and there’s got to
be something better than one of these photo IDs. I wouldn’t
mind having something planted permanently in my arm that
would identify me."
Well, that prompter Applied Digital Solutions’ chairman, Richard J.
Sullivan to action. He said that Rooney will be one of the
first subscribers of the chip, once FDA approval is
received.
The ironic thing about the Rooney chip story is a thread being discussed
over on the ia.talk.misc newsgroup. I found “Mr.
Perry," on the same day the business report about
Rooney being asked to be a chip-implant subscriber,
saying, “Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if some right
wing official, like Johan Asscroft (sic), were to propose
that an identification chip be embedded into every
American and that doctors be required to implant them in
newborns within an hour of their birth. These guys must be
studying Nazi German history and using their methods as a
pattern."
Another interesting thread about the National ID card was also being
discussed over on the uk.legal newsgroup.
No, I don’t quite agree with what Mr. Perry says, but it was ironic –
and it is plausible to conceive. The idea of the chip has
been debated, discussed, researched, and tested for years.
In fact, other countries are having marked degrees of
success with limited implanted chip programs.
Having looked, briefly, at the problem with identity fraud – and possible
solutions, let’s turn and look at another side of the
issue: privacy.
One plan for National ID cards being eyes would require states to include
biometric and other standard data on driver’s licenses.
One civil liberties group, the Electronic Privacy
Information Center (EPIC), says that tying all U.S.
drivers’ license databases together threatens to
increase identity theft, decrease privacy, and limit
freedom.
EPIC was responding to a proposal made by the American Association of Motor
Vehicle Administrators, which said the plan is intended to
make driver’s licenses more reliable as identification
cards. EPIC, however, says if the plan is implemented, it
would turn driver’s licenses into “internal
passports" and set up the infrastructure for a
national surveillance system.
If made machine-readable, personal information from driver’s licenses
would be collected wherever licenses are shown for
identification – from health clubs to video rental
stores, argues EPIC, adding that “such widespread access
to personal data is an enormous invasion of privacy.
The most ominous problem anyone would face with such a program is when
mistakes are made in the personal information stored in
the databases.
So what do you think of a National ID program? Drop me an email
at and let me know your thoughts.
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"ID: It's Not Just for States Anymore"
