I too am very nervous about the prospect of national ID cards. I
have an idea for a possible compromise, but I have not made up my
mind on it. I'm interested in hearing other people's opinions.
The idea is a federal standard for secure drivers' licenses. These
would be cards containing a chip that stores an electronically signed
and time stamped data file consisting of the driver's name, date of
birth, height, address, photo, and scanned signature, as well as
endorsements such as truck, school bus, motorcycle and hazmat
operator licenses. All this information is contained in existing
drivers' licenses, but in a way that is too easy to forge.
The licenses would still be issued by the states so there would be no
new bureaucracy. People who don't drive could get proof of age
cards using the same technology. Many states now issue such cards in
conventional formats for liquor purchase. There would be pressure to
expand the use of these licenses to other uses. That has already
happened for conventional DLs with liquor purchase and airline
boarding. Some new uses might be acceptable, e.g. using the cards to
contain pilot or boating licenses. Limitations on new uses could be
included in the enabling legislation.
The security model of the card would be privacy oriented, i.e.
limiting who could access the cards to authorized users and the
owner. The integrity of the information would come from the
electronic signatures. As I understand it, much of the forgery of
DLs that now takes place involves unauthorized use of the equipment
that produces legitimate cards. The secure DL would cut down on this
because the information on the card would be signed by by the
operator of the equipment, making the forgery more traceable. The
data would also be signed using a key that is only available at a
central location and a copy of the signed info would be retained in
the driver database (this information is already collected anyway).
This would make it more difficult to change just the photo on the
license, for example.
The main difference between a secure driver's license and a national
ID is that there would be no new requirement to obtain or carry the
card. One can look at it as the nose in the camel's tent or as a way
to deflect pressure for more Draconian solutions.
Thoughts?
Arnold Reinhold
At 1:47 PM -0400 10/3/2001, R. A. Hettinga wrote:
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From: National Review D.C. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: AGAINST ID CARDS
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 13:58:40 +
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Washington Bulletin: National Review's Internet Update for
October 3, 2001
http://www.nationalreview.com
AGAINST ID CARDS
[The worse way to fight terrorism]
Only a bare majority of Americans--51 percent--support the creation of a
national identity card, according to a new poll by Fabrizio, McLaughlin
Associates. This is a substantial loss of support since the Pew
Research Center found 70 percent endorsing the concept in a survey it
conducted immediately after the September 11 attacks.
Yet plenty of warning signs remain. Westerners are only demographic
group with a majority opposing ID cards (53 percent) and senior citizens
are the only segment with a plurality against it (47 percent).
Republicans and men are evenly split on the issue, with Democrats and
women likely to favor it. Most troubling, however, may be that the poll
shows overall support jumping to 61 percent when the ID card is
described as ìa measure to combat terrorism and make the use of false
identities more difficult.î
If ever the American public was primed to accept an ID card, the time is
now. A recent Washington Post survey reports that 64 percent of
Americans say they trust the federal government to do the right thing
ìnearly alwaysî or ìmost of the timeî--the highest level of trust
recorded since 1966 and twice the level measured just a year ago. ìThis
is the most collective mood weíve seen in America for a long time,î
Democratic pollster Celinda Lake told the New York Times. ìAnd itís
coming off one of the most individualistic eras in American history.î
The Bush administration already has signaled through a spokesman that it
does not support the idea, though several members of Congress have
embraced it and House immigration subcommittee chairman George Gekas, a
Pennsylvania Republican, says ID cards will definitely receive
consideration. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has said his company, a leader
in databases, would donate the software to make it happen.
Conservatives must oppose these internal passports with vigor. They may
be promoted now as tools for combating terrorism, but their potential
for abuse is enormous. How long before the federal government also
starts tracking gun sales through them? Or auditing income-tax
