[Infowarrior] - REAL ID Reanimated

[Richard Forno]

August 20th, 2009
PASS ID: REAL ID Reanimated

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/08/pass-id-real-id-reanimated

News Update by Richard Esguerra
In February, the opponents of REAL ID were given a bit of hope when  
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that she wanted to  
repeal the REAL ID Act, the federal government's failed plan to impose  
a national identification card through state driver's licenses. But  
what has taken place since is no return to sanity, as political  
machinations have produced a cosmetic makeover called "PASS ID" that  
has revived the push for a national identification card.

The PASS ID Act (S. 1261) seeks to make many of the same ineffectual,  
dangerous changes the REAL ID Act attempted to impose. Fundamentally,  
PASS ID operates on the same flawed premise of REAL ID -- that  
requiring various "identity documents" (and storing that information  
in databases for later access) will magically make state drivers'  
licenses more legitimate, which will in turn improve national security.

Proponents seem to be blind to the systemic impotence of such an  
identification card scheme. Individuals originally motivated to obtain  
and use fake IDs will instead use fake identity documents to procure  
"real" drivers' licenses. PASS ID creates new risks -- it calls for  
the scanning and storage of copies of applicants' identity documents  
(birth certificates, visas, etc.). These documents will be stored in  
databases that will become leaky honeypots of sensitive personal data,  
prime targets for malicious identity thieves or otherwise accessible  
by individuals authorized to obtain documents from the database.  
Despite some alterations to the scheme, PASS ID is still bad for  
privacy in many of the same ways the REAL ID was. And proponents of  
the national ID effort seem blissfully unaware of the creepy  
implications of a "papers please" mentality that may grow from the  
issuance of mandatory federal identification cards. Despite token  
provisions that claim to give states the freedom to issue non-federal  
identification cards, the card will be mandatory for most -- the PASS  
ID Act seeks to require everyone to show the federally recognized ID  
for "any official purpose," including boarding a plane or entering a  
federal building.

At the moment, health care reform is commanding tremendous attention  
and effort on the hill, so the PASS ID Act seems to be on the  
backburner for now. But after the August recess, anything can happen.  
So stay tuned for more about PASS ID and critical opportunities to  
flag your opposition to this flawed national ID scheme.

Related Issues: Privacy, Real ID