The REAL ID Act was passed in May 11, 2005. Like other government surveillance measures, its passage was justified by citing terrorist threats. The most important and invasive part of this act establishes uniform national standards for drivers’ licenses and identification cards; this results in the creation of a uniform national ID. Additionally, the REAL ID Act tightens the laws on applications for asylum and makes more stringent laws that deport aliens for terrorist activity. The Act also alters visa limits for temporary workers, Australians, and nurses.
Currently, drivers’ licenses are issued by states. Individuals may also purchase non-driver identification cards at the state level. While the REAL ID Act does not ban states from using their own standards for identification cards, federal agencies will only be permitted to accept identification that complies with national standards starting May 11, 2008, when the law goes into effect.
The following information must be included on the REAL ID:
- gender
- full name
- date of birth
- picture of the person’s face
- permanent address
- signature
- ID number
However, this information is not just limited to the state that issues the ID. Each state must agree to share its motor vehicle database with every other state. This database not only includes all of the information on the ID car, but also records of past violations and driving history.
A major problem with REAL ID is that it does not serve the purpose it is purportedly intended to serve: stopping terrorism. The 9/11 terrorists had proper identification; if anything making a national ID would promote the false assumptions that if an individual has the ID, they are somehow “legitimate” and not a threat.
Additionally, the privacy ramifications of REAL ID are enormous. The potential harm of a leak of the databases would multiply, since, now, every registered individual in the US would appear in this database. There is also concern that a RFID chip will be installed, which will allow an individual to be tracked. According to Barry Steinhardt of ACLU, “"Everyone from 7-Eleven to the owner of your apartment building to a retailer and a bank are going to demand to see this document.” "And they're going to be able to read all of the private data off of the machine-readable strip."
Find out more about the REAL ID Act:
Epic on National and REAL ID
http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/
Summary of REAL ID Act
http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/sctran/realidsummary05.htm
REAL ID Act of 2005 on THOMAS
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:H.R.418
