[105241] in Cypherpunks
IP: [FP] Free-Market.Net - National ID Cards
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vladimir Z. Nuri)
Mon Nov 9 00:48:47 1998
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Date: Sun, 08 Nov 98 21:35:20 -0800
From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Reply-To: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
From: "ScanThisNews" <mcdonalds@airnet.net>
Subject: IP: [FP] Free-Market.Net - National ID Cards
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1998 14:17:19 -0600
To: "ScanThisNews Recipients List" <scan@efga.org>
SCAN THIS NEWS
[Forwarded article from Free-Market.Net]
-----
Volume II,
Number 8 November-December 1998
National ID Cards
edited by Robert Knautz
http://www.free-market.net/features/spotlight/9811.html
"Free-Market.Net - the world's most comprehensive source
for information on liberty."
http://www.free-market.net/
-----
Revelations 13:16-17
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or
in their foreheads:
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Although the idea is nothing new, national identification
systems are now on the rise around the world.
-----
Technological advances are making them easier and cheaper to implement. And
some of the potential benefits are enticing. "Smart cards" and centralized
databases might simplify your personal finances, save you time, and make
your health information immediately accessible to your doctor. "Smart chips"
implanted by veterinarians can make it easy to find your pet if they get
lost.
On the other hand, some of the dangers of central databases and ID systems
are frightening. Central storage of financial data could lead to theft and a
variety of abuses by those who have access to retrieve and enter it. Health
care privacy could become impossible to maintain. And the same chips that
are being used to track animals could be used to track people - in fact,
some companies have already issued ID badges with tracking devices so that
they can verify the locations of their employees.
If private use of ID systems is frightening, government use is downright
terrifying. Can anyone trust their government with the ability to monitor
financial holdings and transactions, check health care records, and track
physical movements?
In 1996, two separate laws were quietly passed by Congress to enable the
U.S. government to create national ID systems. A law to reform health
insurance authorized a Unique Patient Identifier that would enable the
government to track everyone's medical care histories. An immigration reform
law requires that all U.S. states incorporate Social Security numbers into
driver's licenses. Neither law was proposed as a national ID system, but
they both clearly authorize one, along with punishments and penalties for
those who don't comply.
Privacy activists were outraged by the laws. Groups and individuals as
diverse as libertarians, patriots, the ACLU, Pat Robertson, and
arch-conservative Phyllis Schlafly all spoke up. And so far they have
managed to keep the laws from being implemented. But they still remain on
the books.
In this Policy Spotlight we have collected some of the most interesting
contributions to this privacy movement. For those of you who want to dig
deep into the topic, we offer dozens of references and links. If you want to
get a read on how the mainstream media has been treating the national ID
controversies, see J.D. Tuccille's Media Spotlight. And when you have
questions or contributions to make, add them to the discussion forum.
[More info and lots of links available on the web page - link provided at
top of article.]
=======================================================================
Don't believe anything you read on the Net unless:
1) you can confirm it with another source, and/or
2) it is consistent with what you already know to be true.
=======================================================================
Reply to: <fingerprint@networkusa.org>
=======================================================================
To subscribe to the free Scan This News newsletter, send a message to
<majordomo@efga.org> and type "subscribe scan" in the BODY.
Or, to be removed type "unsubscribe scan" in the message BODY.
For additional instructions see www.efga.org/about/maillist.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Scan This News" is Sponsored by S.C.A.N.
Host of the "FIGHT THE FINGERPRINT!" web page:
www.networkusa.org/fingerprint.shtml
=======================================================================
****************************************************
To subscribe or unsubscribe, email:
majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com
with the message:
(un)subscribe ignition-point email@address
or (un)subscribe ignition-point-digest email@address
****************************************************
www.telepath.com/believer
****************************************************
