- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
humble state driver's license is being sized up for a make-over as
lawmakers
and government agencies look for ways to reduce identity fraud in the wake
of Sept. 11.
-
- Proposals to standardize the application process, include
digitized hand scans or other "biometric" identifiers, and
increase
the availability of underlying drivers' records have gained ground after
investigators found that several of hijackers who slammed planes into the
Pentagon and the World Trade Center had used fraudulent
identification.
-
- In a society that has traditionally been suspicious of
big government, calls for a single, national identity card have never made
much headway. State drivers' licenses have long served as the primary proof
of ID everywhere from grocery stores to bars.
-
- While some states have incorporated features such as
embossing and bar codes to deter fakes, the rise of color printers,
scanners
and the Internet have kept forgers in business.
-
- Improvements to the current system could deter
terrorists,
cut down on identity theft and even curb underage drinking, proponents
say.
-
- Digital fingerprints, retina scans or other biometric
identifiers would make forgery nearly impossible, an association of state
drivers' license agencies said last month, while increased standardization
among states would enable authorities to more easily catch criminals who
cross state lines.
-
- The Progressive Policy Institute, a centrist Democratic
think tank, said the new cards should also serve as a "smart
card"
platform for a wide range of electronic services, from automated payments
to digital signatures for e-commerce.
-
- The proposals have gained some traction on Capitol Hill.
Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin in the Senate and Virginia Democrat Jim Moran
in the House are preparing bills that would provide funding to update and
standardize drivers' licenses. Moran's proposal would also provide funding
for states to develop smart-card capabilities, an aide said.
-
- Congress has also directed the U.S. Department of
Transportation
to develop a set of standards on its own.
-
- But the proposals have raised the hackles of a wide range
of advocacy groups, from the American Civil Liberties Union to the American
Conservative Union, who say they could erode privacy and lead to the
creation
of a national ID card in all but name.
-
- "What you're really looking at is the infrastructure
of a national system of identification and a national system of
surveillance,"
said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy
Information
Center.
-
- The Association of American Motor Vehicle Administrators
(AAMVA) said last month states should agree on a standard biometric to
use on all driver's licenses.
-
- Already in use in eight states and the District of
Columbia,
biometric identifiers encode a body part such as a fingerprint or retina
to establish what proponents say is "unforgeable" proof of
identity.
-
- State and federal authorities such as the FBI would also
be able to easily link their records under the AAMVA's proposals, enabling
a police officer in Florida, for example, to call up the criminal record
of someone stopped with a Michigan driver's license.
-
- But a uniform ID, with biometric identifiers and shared
information, would inevitably compromise the privacy of U.S. citizens as
tax collectors, employers, and other groups seek access, civil-liberties
and other interest groups said in a letter to President Bush on Feb.
11.
-
- The system could also encourage crimes like identity
theft by making personal records more readily available, said EPIC's
Rotenberg.
-
- States are only looking to boost the effectiveness of
the current system, an AAMVA spokesman said. Private businesses, such as
airlines, would be welcome to use the biometric data to verify identity,
but not to tap into the underlying databases.
-
- "A yes or no is all we're looking for," said
spokesman Jason King. "We certainly don't support the collection of
massive amounts of information."
-
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