Howard Dean's 'smart ID' plan; called for national ID card and ID's in PCs.

ZDNET ^ | 01/26/04 | Declan McCullagh

[pointsal]

It comes with a customized MP3 file having an authentic scream.

[GregoryFul]

Operating a computer is a privilege, not a right!

[af_vet_rr]

I thought the old USSR was dead....

Oh no, it's alive and kicking.

Don't be surprised to see this kind of thing become commonplace. Our country may not have the revolution that the socialists had, but the end result will be the same.

Tie it together with the DHS's database for airlines (initialy).

[GrandEagle]

Oh no, it's alive and kicking.
I didn't fall for the "communism is dead" line, It is alive and well; just disguised and imported to the US.

but the end result will be the same.
Unfortunately, I think you are correct.

[george wythe]

You could blame him, I suppose, but the argument isn't very strong.

I specifically wrote to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Florida not to share my SSN with third parties.

It was the Jeb Bush administration that one that sold this data in electronic form, and my written request for privacy was ignored, even though my request is recorded in the state electronic records.

I got my current driver's licence after Jeb Bush became governor; I had a driver's license from another state when I moved to Florida. So Jeb Bush is responsible for it.

Saturday, January 23, 1999
By ROBERT O'HARROW JR.
The Washington Post

For the first time since authorities began snapping photographs of drivers for licenses, state officials have begun selling the images wholesale, another example of the growing availability of rich troves of personal information via modern technology.

In the last several months, South Carolina has released 3.5 million digital photographs, Florida has started the process of transferring 14 million images in its files and other states have expressed interest in doing the same.

The buyer is Image Data LLC, a small Nashua, N.H., company that wants to build a national database of photos and personal information to help retailers prevent identity theft - a fast-growing crime in which fraud artists use a victim's personal information to run up bills in their name or empty their bank accounts.

Image Data bought the photographs for about a penny each. Those images will be cross-referenced to personal information gleaned from public and private sources. In addition to a name and address, the company's databases will hold an individual's Social Security number, age, gender, race and other details from a driver's file, as well as limited information about each transaction.

[the invisib1e hand]

So Jeb Bush is responsible for it.

maybe you should sue him. but first, reread:

Image Data bought the photographs for about a penny each. Those images will be cross-referenced to personal information gleaned from public and private sources

[george wythe]

My SSN was a requirement to get a Florida driver's license. The state of Florida allowed me to include a written statement asking for my SSN not to be shared with third parties.

The SSN is like a password. When a company is going to run your credit report or a bank is going to give you confidential information over the phone, the SSN becomes the password.

By linking my driver's license records (state records) with my SSN (federal records), my password was published against my will.

That's one of the reasons we have so much identity fraud floating around.

I can't sue Jeb Bush because the legislature went along with the deal.

My smakl point is this: Jeb Bush or any other governor can't be trusted with private information.

You claimed that Jeb Bush had nothing to do with it. I proved to you, that in my case, he was the chief of the executive branch who sold my records.

[the invisib1e hand]

I proved to you, that in my case, he was the chief of the executive branch who sold my records.

I see that your photo was sold. That much, you proved pretty well.

Now, I hasten to say that I firmly believe it to be, at the least, in very poor taste, and perhaps a breach of public trust to allow the marketing of so much 'cross-referenceable' personal information simply because it is 'public record.'

I'd love to see some sharp and sane lawyer (assuming there is such a creature) come up with an argument that proves all that information is proprietary (when used in combination) and therefore the rightful owners of it (you and me, individually) are due royalties from any commercial gain realized by trading it.

It might be further useful to explore ways to hold the source of such 'public records' liable for damages incurred by identity theft, stalking, etc.

[george wythe]

I agree 100% with your last post, especially this part:

It might be further useful to explore ways to hold the source of such 'public records' liable for damages incurred by identity theft, stalking, etc.

Almost daily, I've heard so many horror stories in the news about folks whose credit is ruined for many years, and trying to clear their damaged reputations becomes a long, costly fight.