- Would you allow a stranger to sift through your purse
or wallet and take your driver's license? Would you announce your
name and address to passers-by on the street? Of course not. You
know it is important to protect your personal information.
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- I am writing today to ask you to protect that information
for all Californians.
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- If tiny computer chips called Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) tags are included in California ID's, like drivers' licenses,
student ID's, or medical and benefit cards without safeguards for
your privacy, the choice to protect your personal information won't
be yours to make.
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- Anyone with an RFID scanner could read the data stored
on RFID chips, from a distance, without you ever knowing, exposing
you to the risk of tracking, stalking, and identity theft.
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- Fortunately, Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has authored
three important bills to help Californians keep their private information
safe:
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- SB 768 requires proper privacy and security protections
for the use of RFID technology in government-issued ID's. ID cards
with "personally identifiable information" would receive
one kind of protection, cards that are used for multiple purposes
that have "unique identifiers" would get another type of
protection, and cards with unique identifiers that are used for a
single purpose get a third type of protection.
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- SB 433 is a three-year "time-out" on the use
of RFID technology in California drivers' licenses. This bill ensures
that RFID tags won't be put in the drivers' licenses of 24 million
Californians before we know that the technology is safe and can protect
personal information. SB 1078 is a three-year "time-out" on the
use of RFID in California K-12 student ID's. This bill ensures that
RFID tags won't be put in the identification cards of six million
public school students before we know that the technology is safe
and can protect personal information.
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- We need your help to get these bills through the Assembly
and signed by the Governor into law.
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- So, please take action today
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- http://action.aclu.org
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- to protect your right to privacy and personal safety.
Say it loud and clear to your representatives: Don't Chip My Rights
Away! Write or call your Assembly Members today and ask them to VOTE
YES on SB 768, SB 433, and SB 1078.
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- Thank you for standing with us today.
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- Dorothy Ehrlich Executive Director, ACLU of Northern
California
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