Sunday, January 23, 2005

Driver's licenses as national IDs?

The Christian Science Monitor is carrying an article on the current debate swirling around over the move to set standards for issuing drivers licenses in the US, all in the name of security. Many are concerned this is the first step toward a de facto national ID card:

A driver's license as national ID? | csmonitor.com:

"...What several analysts question is why this standardizing IDs makes us more secure?

'How does identification really relate to security?' asks Daniel Solove, a law professor at George Washington University and author of 'The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age.' 'People just assume it [improves security] as if it was a fundamental truth.'

The new law focuses heavily on how a license is obtained, systematizing the list of documents needed to apply and how to verify them. In some states, like New York, it's a long list."

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