The REAL ID Act of 2005 requires states to issue identification cards and driver licenses which conform to federal standards yet to be issued, and all of the information to be stored in a central database yet to be established. A privacy activist has said that he obtained internal Homeland Security documents which describe how that database will be established and run.
Bill Scannell of The Identity Project, who also runs the Web site UnRealID.com, said last week that he obtained copies of draft Homeland Security regulations which show several options for who might run the database, as well as the option that DHS ultimately chose.
Regular readers of Homeland Stupidity found out the answer two months ago, so I will disagree with Scannell’s claim of being the first to discover this.
According to a still-secret several hundred-page dossier sent last week by DHS to the Office of Management and Budget, DHS considered three ways to implement the REAL ID Act:
- Plan A: Order the individual states to find a way of communicating data to one another. This idea was given short shrift by DHS, who dismissed it out of hand.
- Plan B: Have DHS build a centralized database for the states to query before issuing REAL ID-compliant drivers licenses. This idea was also rejected.
- Plan C: Have a private data aggregator act as the central database. This is the plan advocated by DHS. The plan calls for the outsourcing of all drivers license and ID card checks to a private corporation, who would then charge the states for each check performed. DHS head Michael Chertoff personally ordered this option to be chosen, according to a senior administration source.
What does this all mean? Quite simply, this is the outsourcing of our Constitutional rights. It means that all privacy protections on our drivers licence data will be removed once the DMV sends your data to the private corporation.
If it’s possible to create a scheme worse than a national ID card, this is it: a privatized National ID card. The citizens of every state will not only be at the mercy of a company like ChoicePoint or Acxiom to ‘approve’ their identity, but will have no privacy protections whatsoever on that data. Your sensitive drivers license data can be bought and sold along with everything else these companies sell, such as your credit information. The federal government can then gain access to this information without having to comply with any laws, such as the Privacy Act. — UnRealID.com
Two months ago I reported to you that the most likely company to handle the contract would be the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. AAMVA recently hired Brian Zimmer, a former House Judiciary Committee staffer who has been a major proponent of REAL ID and who would have worked closely with Rep. James Sensenbrenner, (R-Wis.) the person responsible for the act. In his new position at AAMVA, Zimmer is responsible for pursuing federal contracts for “identity management” and managing the company’s identity management projects.
Civil libertarians have cited concerns that REAL ID effectively creates a national ID system. Scannell did not say if Homeland Security recommended a particular vendor, but he claimed that Secretary Michael Chertoff personally ordered a plan to hire a private data aggregator for license and ID card checks.
“Homeland Security is granting the right to control our identity to private industry,” Scannell wrote on the Web site UnRealID.com. “It will be Identity-Mart Inc.”
A Homeland Security spokesman declined to comment on the issue. — National Journal’s Technology Daily
Don’t be too surprised in a few months when it’s announced that AAMVA got the contract after a lengthy wait, required for the sake of appearances and bureaucracy. After all, they’re already maintaining a similar, but much smaller, database for the states, which holds data on every commercial driver license holder in the country. This is the blueprint on which the national identity database will be built.
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Tropical WeatherLast week, in the wake of another uptick in the official unemployment rate, the administration continued to claim that their economic policies were working, just not fast enough. Not only does the administration have a funny way of ending a war, but now they claim their economic policies are successful. For whom, I wonder?
Gardner Goldsmith teams up with Brett Veinotte, of the excellent School Sucks Project and the School Sucks podcast. Gard and Brett discuss the impetus of the series and project, and why public education must be stopped.
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lordmetroid
Jan 15, 2007
The stupidity is overwhelming.
However I would urge you to not use “constitutional rights”, there are no such thing as a constitutional right. There are natural rights juridically guranateed by the constitution. But unless you make a court case of you natural rights being violated and use the laws that the constitution provides you with for putting the person who is violating your natural right in personal jepordy through legal means it is nothing.
lordmetroid
Jan 15, 2007
Ohh, and remember to represent yourself and do your homework because an attorney will not do what you want as that is conflicting with his own interests.
But do your homework on how to play theater in the court and so on. http://www.citizensoftheamericanconstitution.org/homepage.htm is a good place to start.
Jan 15, 2007
BLOGical Thoughts » Monday, 15 January, 2007
Q
Jan 15, 2007
our government selling our souls and privacy to corporations AGAIN.
Richard Braakman
Jan 15, 2007
I don’t know about the other stuff, but you are the only one who can sell your soul.
Fraud Guy
Jan 16, 2007
So with inside/outside deals like this, why aren’t the FBI and the NSA using their “national security letters” to find out how this deal was set up. Oops, that would be a potential criminal investigation, and they have to achieve a level of probable cause before they can go after possible malfeasance.
Ray
Jan 16, 2007
Has anyone noticed that basically this puts the database in hands that don’t require the same level of search warrants to access the data as would be required with the other two options ;-)
Jan 17, 2007
U.S.-China Surveillance » Reports: DHS Planning to Privatize Real ID System
Kevin Fields
Jan 18, 2007
We’ve all noticed. Michael has done a very good job of making readers aware of what each hand of the government is doing, and he’s carefully drawn these articles together so that we can clearly see the obvious conclusions.
Thank you, Michael!
Treva Duffy
Jan 21, 2007
This policy concerning the very safety of American citizens is ABSURD and DANGEROUS. Revise this one fast!
Sincerely,
Treva Duffy
Jewels
Jan 23, 2007
The America People: SOLD!!! To the highest bidder!
Jewels
Jan 23, 2007
Oops…that should read: “American People…”
joanna
Jan 23, 2007
This real ID is nothing but the mark of the beast. people get ready read your biblei is being fulfilled as we speak and if you take thhe mark its over.Hell is very real is that where you want to spend eternity think about it.
yetta
Feb 27, 2007
this is a test
yetta
Feb 27, 2007
this is it! the fulfillment of scripture! i’m so excited!
Mar 01, 2007
DHS issues REAL ID draft regulations - Homeland Stupidity
Anonymous
Jan 12, 2008
Looks like Real-ID is back in the news. A new deadline approaches this spring of ‘08. I heard the gov would lke all to be compliant by 2017 or some such