UNITED STATES: Congress passes ID card

On May 10, the US Senate unanimously passed the Real ID Act, as part of a spending bill for the Iraq war. The law, which had already been (narrowly) passed by the House of Representatives, will come into effect in May 2008. From then, all US residents will need a federally approved ID card with "machine readable technology" in order to open a bank account, catch a plane or a train or enter a federal building. The card would be able to store a lot of information, including addresses, fingerprint data, driving history and social security information. Motivated as a key part of the "war on terror", the scheme will make it almost impossible for illegal workers to get a drivers' licence and to travel easily. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has organised a campaign against the bill, arguing that it would make identity fraud easier and enable any retailer with a card reader to collect private and sensitive information relatively easily. For more information, visit <http://www.unrealid.com>.

From Green Left Weekly, May 25, 2005.

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From GLW issue 627