Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives passed
the REAL ID Act, bringing us a giant step closer to a
"national ID." The REAL ID Act would establish a vast
national database of ID holders, where even a small
percentage of errors would cause major social disruption.
The ID would essentially be an internal passport that
would be shown before accessing planes, trains,
national parks, and court houses - an irresistible
target for forgers and identity thieves. It would
also divert resources from security measures that
could actually work. And in calling for the use of
"common machine-readable technology," the REAL ID Act
paves the way for the federal government to force every
state to put radio-frequency identification (RFID)
chips into their ID cards.
The Senate needs to be reminded that such proposals have
always been rejected for good reason: our privacy and
civil liberties are at the core of what it means to be
an American citzen, and they shouldn't be traded for what
amounts to security theater. Tell your senators to
reject the REAL ID Act.
Make your voice heard with the EFF Action Center:
<http://action.eff.org/site/advocacy?id=119>
