National ID Cards

Ousmane Gueye

CST300L

Biometric technology: The beginning of a digital era

Overview History of the Identification System

What is a National ID card

Biometric technology

Current Situation

Constraints

Pros and Cons

What is the motive?

Develop a flawless identification system

Build a national biometric bank where each individual is identified by his/her unique genetic, biometric, physical, and behavioral traits

Historical Events 1775 First passport is issued (War of Independence)

1936 Social Security number is created and National ID idea rejected

2005 Real ID Act (restrictions apply to State issued ID's)

Identification systems have always existed using different technologies, and providing documents in different formats

What is a National ID Has a RFID chip on it

Contains biometric information

Connects to a National Data Bank

Common to all 50 states

Biometric technology Uses a computerized method to collect biometric information

Data is recorded on a Radio Frequency ID chip

The chip issues a unique ID number when hit with a signal frequency

Chip can be inserted under the skin, on cards, or sewn in clothes

Biometric technology

Individual behavioral and physical traits such as retinal scan, genetic characteristics, face and finger prints

It's more accurate than the current technology

Uses a complete set of biometric data to identify each individual

Current Situation State issued ID cards are widely used

Driver's licenses and ID cards still use the old technology

Biometric methods are in place and the field is growing

Biometric companies include 3M Cogent, Antheus Technology, and others

Congress faces strong opposition to pass legislation

Constraints - Budgetary

The Real ID program suffers budgetary constrains

In 2009 Budget was cut from $100 million to $60 million (40%)

Not a top priority in the Homeland Security agenda

Constraints - Legal

Opposition from lawmakers

Opposition from advocacy groups such as ACLU and EPIC

Citizens' reluctance to lose privacy

Differences in State Laws

Pros

Increases National Security Fight terrorism

End illegal immigration

Fight tax and ID theft

End ID-related fraudulent activities

Cons

Violates Privacy Rights and Leads to Stereotypes

A weapon that might be abused by the legal authority

Discrimination against patients by insurance companies

Risk of stereotypes by genotype, behavioral traits, and race

Mishandling or theft of biometrics can be detrimental

Recommendation

What can you do? Do more research (visit epic.org, aclu.org, dhs.gov) Evaluate the benefits and the detrimental effects

Raise awareness on the issue

Vote for or against the implementation of this National ID system

ConclusionBiometric technology is a direct consequence of the the digital era.

It engenders deep social transformations as its impact on society is unprecedented. Since we went from a hand-written form of ID to a chip-enabled ID card, does gaining security mean losing privacy?

ReferencesAmitai, E. (1999). The Limits of Privacy. Basic Books, New York. Print.

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EPIC. (2008, May). National id and the real id act. Retrieved from http://epic.org/privacy/id_cards/

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NTEB News. (Producer). (2011). mexican-id-now-equal-with-ca-id. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?attachment_id=7018

Starnes, S. (Producer). (2010). 0_12_national_id_card_450. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/the-democrats-double-standard/

The Telegraph. (Producer). (2008). /id-card-reverse_998586c. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/3077827/Anger-as-Jacqui-Smith-prepares-to-unveil-ID-card-design.html

ReferencesU.S. Department oh Homeland Security, Office of the Press Secretary. (2011). Fact sheet: Fiscal year 2012

budget request. Retrieved from Office of the Press Secretary website: http://www.dhs.gov/news/2011/02/14/secretary-napolitano-announces-fiscal-year-2012-budget-request

U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy. (2009). The story of the social security number (2). Retrieved from website: http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v69n2/v69n2p55.html