Did People Think No One Would Recognize REAL ID If Introduced Under Another Name?

from the pass-id,-indeed dept

Last year, it became clear that REAL ID was dead on arrival as pretty much everyone was against it, and states were refusing to implement it. With the changing of the administration, it seemed like REAL ID was finally going to die completely... but apparently not just yet. EFF alerts folks to the fact that the same concept has basically been reintroduced under the name PASS ID, as if that would trick people:

The plan sounds equally as bad and unnecessary:

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.

But why let that stop the gov't from coming up with more ways to keep tabs on you?

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Opposition to REAL ID Continues to Grow

from the state-legislators-say-no dept

My colleague Jim Harper points out that the National Conference of State Legislatures has called for the repeal of the REAL ID Act. We last noted that the Department of Homeland Security was pretending that all 50 states were on schedule to implement the law, despite the fact that several of them had explicitly said they wouldn't implement it. Now it appears that a lot of state legislators are ready to take things a step further and call for the outright repeal of a law that many of them have refused to implement in their own states. The NCSL letter makes an excellent point that can't be emphasized enough: the worthwhile parts of REAL ID, such as making driver's licenses harder to forge, can be accomplished at the state level without getting the feds involved. States can take what's good from REAL ID and voluntarily incorporate it into their state identification systems without participating in a massive federal database that would become a magnet for identity theft.

Timothy Lee is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Timothy Lee and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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New DHS Strategy On Real ID: We'll Just Pretend Everyone Implemented It

from the hell-no-means-yes dept

The Department of Homeland Security had been threatening that drivers' licenses in certain states wouldn't be valid federal IDs if states didn't promise by the end of March to implement the troubled Real ID rules. However, somewhere along the line (with a handful of states vehemently protesting the rules), it appears that Secretary Chertoff and the DHS simply decided that it would pretend every state agreed to implement Real ID and deal with reality later. DHS put out a press release claiming that all states had met the "initial requirements" for Real ID, and even painted its silly map green to show "compliance." The problem is that this simply isn't true. It looks as though DHS simply decided that any communication, even if it was to tell the DHS that there was no chance the state would implement Real ID, would be read as if it were the state agreeing to enact Real ID's rules. The whole thing is rather comical until you realize these are the folks who are supposed to be protecting the country.

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California Refuses To Play By Real ID Rules

from the waiting-it-out dept

The Department of Homeland Security's "Real ID" program is a classic case of "security theater." It's a project designed to give the appearance of increased security, but which will actually do the opposite (and cost a ton of taxpayer dollars at the same time). The good (and somewhat surprising) thing, is that almost everyone (outside of DHS) seems to recognize this. Not a single state plans to implement the rules by the original deadline. DHS has been granting "extensions" to states that promise to implement the rules by 2010 while threatening to make drivers' licenses no longer valid IDs for things like boarding airplanes or entering federal buildings for any state that doesn't comply. While there are a few states that haven't even asked for an extension, California asked for an extension while saying clearly that it wasn't promising to implement Real ID at all -- but would use the extension to study the matter. This was a test, and DHS has backed down, granting the extension, allowing California drivers' licenses to remain legitimate federal IDs. This could give more confidence to other states to not just blindly implement Real ID. At this point, you have to think that many states are just waiting this out, assuming that there will be a change in management at DHS after the election this November, and the whole concept of Real ID will get changed or scrapped.

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DHS Official: 'Real ID Has A Bad Bumper Sticker Reputation'

from the you-don't-say dept

CNet reports on a talk by Department of Homeland Security official Stewart Baker, in which he defended the Real ID Act against its many critics. Conceding that the proposal "has a bad bumper sticker reputation," he insisted that the Real ID Act will make it easier to catch identity thieves. But as my colleague Jim Harper has pointed out, the opposite is closer to the truth: by centralizing loads of private data in one database, the Real ID Act will make identity thieves' jobs a lot easier. One sign of how badly Real ID is faring can be judged from the fact that Baker is bragging about the fact that 45 states plus DC have been granted waivers to continue using their existing driver's licenses while they work toward complying with the law by next year. Why is it a victory that 45 states are going to miss the original deadline this coming May? Because the other 5 states have refused to comply at all. There are a couple of things to note about this. First, as Declan McCullagh points out, DHS has been practically begging states to request waivers, and a number of states have accepted waivers while continuing to express doubts about whether they'll ever comply. Second, there's no way the feds are actually going to impose the promised punishment -- refusing to accept state IDs in airports -- on the residents of the five states that have refused to comply with the law's requirements. Imagine the chaos if every traveler in South Carolina discovered that his or her South Carolina driver's license was no longer a valid form of identification. The feds will back down (especially since showing your ID isn't legally required at airports anyway) rather than risk being held responsible for chaos at the nation's airports.

Timothy Lee is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Timothy Lee and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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