Internal Passports

[Timothy C. May]

At 12:59 PM -0600 12/31/96, snow wrote:
>Mr. May wrote:
>> My SS card, issued in 1969 (and which I still have, surprisingly enough),
>> says this. Someone said recently here on the list that this line was
>> dropped in more recent years.
>
>     I had to have mine replaced recently, and that line is no longer
>_anywhere_ on the card.
>
>     Did they change the laws regarding the use of your SSN as ID, or
>are most people just ignoring it?
>

At the bottom of my SS card are these exact words:

"FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND TAX PURPOSES--NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION"

When I had to renew my California Driver's License, I was asked for my SS
number...a new requirement. I pointed out that the SS number is not for
identification. The clerk gave me a blank look and said I would not get a
driver's license without an SS number. I gave in, preferring to fight other
battles.

(And I would surely lose this battle, probably even if I spend tons of
money on mounting a legal challenge.)

There have been several reports cited here recently about changes in the SS
laws to make the SS number more of an ID number. (It already is, of course,
for taxes, for employers, for credit, for driver's licenses, for student
ID, etc.)

And concerns about "identity theft" when such a simple thing as an SS
number is the key to so many records, rights, etc.

--Tim May

Just say "No" to "Big Brother Inside"
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay at got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."