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Bob Gelman on ID cards
``` [This is a comment by Bob Gelman about the message on ID card technology that I forwarded to RRE last week. Bob is a respected privacy policy analyst, having spent many years working on such issues for the US Congress. I'm not taking a position one way or the other, though.]
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 08:38:32 -0800 From: cyberguy@well.com (Robert B. Gelman)
[...]
Congressional ID Cards a viewpoint by B. Gelman
Whoa there. Slow down a minute. What's the big deal? The PDF-417 thing is just another technology. I don't know the originating source of the alert I read, but even if it had been John Barlow, I wouldn't waste my time getting upset about it.
Frankly, the posting contains innaccuracies that make the entire document suspect. Let's start with the basic underlying premise which was implied, but not well stated: here is a new technology which, if applied as proposed, could alter the balance of power between the populace and government in favor of the latter.
That's a serious issue, and one that I'm an activist for. Still, just about any week you hear about another example of a new or supposedly "threatening" technology hitting the streets. The roblem is not the technology, but the question surrounding the legality/constitutionality of its application.
I don't have time to go in-depth here, but lets briefly look at some of the statements made in the article:
1. >anyone< you show your card to has access to all your data How does this differ from the DMV giving out your address today? It should be prohibited, but it didn't arrive with PDF-417. The same methods you mightse to prevent strangers from seeing certain info on the face of your license today will still work.
2. They're cheap and easy to forge This is probably why they won't be adopted by government agencies.
3. Break-ins to DMV could put encryption keys into the hands of bad guys. I'd rather get frazzled about nuclear weapons in the hands of third-world countries.
4. Photo/Signature match This is a GOOD thing, unless you happen to be John Mitnick.
5. Buying guns Anything that makes it easier to buy guns is not ok with me. Again, this is a different issue, having to do with our gun laws. If society wants to eliminate the waiting period for gun-purchase n favor of a system that makes criminal records instantly evident, I've got no problem with that. I just won't be using it.
6. Motor Voter There's a mistaken assumption here. There is no implied link between driving and voting. The motor voter bill (which has been ruled constitutional, but should not have been, in my opinion) only mandates that DMVs facilitate national election registration. Again, it's a different issue. The feds are forcing the states to provide a service but are not providing funding for same. That should be changed, and I believe California has appealed the case in which it was decided.
As far as US voter registration goes..it's the biggest farce in the free world, and I never hear anyone speaking out about it! Consider this: the US is the only remaining super-power, the paragon of democracy. Our elections are sacred traditions from which all our governing institutions flow. Sure, except no-one checks your ID when you register to vote. No one verifies that you are actually a citizen. No controls exist to assure that the electorate in this country actually live here or have the right to participate in elections--or are even real people. Therefore logically, all US elections are without legal status and all officials now serving are accessories to fraud. Let's worry about fixing this, not the blanket condemnation of a new technology.
7. Banks+IRS+DMV=Big Brother This would concern me greatly, if it were a fact. IRS will not be linked in to this system if we clearly express our position to those fraudulently-serving lawmakers. The same goes for bank info--should be voluntary only
8. Insurance If I get critically injured in an auto accident, it could save my life to have certain medical and insurance info available instantly. I want that. At the same time, if this and other private, personal information is encoded mandatorily, what's left of our privacy and freedom will be a memory.
My point is that these technologies offer benefits to individuals and society, and just like every new communications/recording technology before them, they also carry the potential for abuse of power. It is incumbent upon those of us who value precious freedoms and privacy to learn all we can about new technologies, how they can affect us, and what we need to do to protect that which we hold dear.
The vigil against erosion of our rights is surely one of the most important aspects of the digital revolution. In that sense, I applaud you for sounding the alarm. Now let's all call and write our representatives, send email to the EFF, ACLU and other watchdog organizations, and by all means, refuse to give blood and urine samples for job interviews!!!
RB Gelman TIC
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