Mandatory ID Cards

[Roy M. Silvernail]

On 19 Sep 2001, at 13:08, Eric Cordian wrote:

> MSNBC is reporting that Congress is thinking of requiring all citizens
> and non-citizens in the United States to carry ID cards.

Interesting article...
http://www.msnbc.com/news/630118.asp for those interested.

> It looks like the anti-privacy folks are going to do an end-run around
> the encryption issue, and first attack anonymity.  An interesting
> strategy, and one which we should not let go unchallenged.

>From the link above:

>  The attacks in New York and at the Pentagon have prompted Congress to
>  begin considering requiring all citizens and non-citizens to carry
>  identity cards.
>  Those might be “smart cards” storing data such as fingerprints
>  and travel records. Reviewing the questions that congressional
>  leaders were raising last Thursday, House Democratic Leader
>  Dick Gephardt told Fox News, “What kind of identity cards would
>  we make citizens and others carry? Would they carry more
>  information?”

Hmmm....  travel records, eh?  And notice Gephardt acting as 
though it were a fait acompli.  Eric's right: anonymity will be the 
first to go.
--
Roy M. Silvernail
Proprietor, scytale.com
roy at scytale.com