[IP] Real ID-- Real Nightmare AP Article and ACLU website. Www.realnightmare.org
Begin forwarded message:
From: Barry Steinhardt <bsteinhardt@xxxxxxxx>
Date: January 14, 2006 12:53:06 PM EST
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Dave,
You may have seen that the Associated Press broke a story late this
week on
a survey of the states conducted by the American Association of Motor
Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), which polled state DMVs about
implementing
the requirements of Real ID identification card and system by the
Act's May
2008 deadline. The states are fairly howling over the costs and
practical
difficulties (some say impossibility) of implementing this thing -
especially within the deadline set by Congress.
One official was so exasperated that he punctuated his official
response by
exclaiming “ Can we all just go home now?”
Cost and complexity may turn out to be the Achilles heel that ultimately
dooms the Real ID, but it would be a real nightmare for Americans in
much
broader ways. The ACLU has created a new web site www.realnightmare.org
which has the complete state by state survey results and a white paper
detailing the results, but also covers the profound effects that
Real ID
will have on the rights of all Americans.
Real ID will be a privacy nightmare creating a de facto National ID
card and
computer database. Among the most disturbing mandates will be the card’s
standard “machine readable component” like an RFID chip or 2D barcode
that
it will make its data instantly available to not only every convenience
store clerk, but to omnivorous data brokers like Choice Point.
And it will be fundamentally unfair to countless Americans who will find
themselves unable to jump through all the bureaucratic hurdles and
overcome
all the mistaken or lost records that will be required to get the de
facto
national ID.
Imagine being a former resident of New Orleans or an asylee from Iran
being
asked to present one of the few official government documents
recognized by
Real ID – only to learn that have been lost to a hurricane or held by
the
government that persecuted you.
Here are the relevant URLS
Website: http://www.realnightmare.org/
White Paper: http://www.realnightmare.org/about/89/
AP article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/3583029.html
Best regards.
Barry
Barry Steinhardt
ACLU Technology and Liberty Project
-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To manage your subscription, go to
http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip
Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/