Real ID-- Real Nightmare AP Article and ACLU website. Www.realnightmare.org

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Barry Steinhardt <bsteinhardt () aclu org>
Date: January 14, 2006 12:53:06 PM EST
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>

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




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