The REAL ID Act of 2005 is a $17 billion privacy and civil rights nightmare that requires all fifty states to issue standardized ID and drivers license cards. Luckily, it has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Congress mandated the cards, passed off the strategy to Homeland Security and stuck the states with the tab for actually paying for all of this.
Not much has actually happened to push the REAL ID Act forward since it was passed, mostly because no funding has been allocated.
Seven states have passed laws refusing to implement the law and another ten have passed resolutions asking Congress to revisit the issue. The ACLU has a website called Real Nightmare that tracks the progress of the legislation (and opposes it). Cato Institute Director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper has written a book called Identity Crisis which outlines the reasons why it will hurt our country and its citizens. There are House and Senate bills before Congress now that would repeal the Act.
So why are Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, Red Hat and many other large technology organizations that are members of the ITAA calling for the government to fund the program immediately and push it forward?
Probably because they stand to gain a lot of money from lucrative government contracts outsourcing the technology and security aspects of the program. The estimated direct costs of the program are $11 billion (with another $6 billion in estimated compliance and opportunity costs to the country) - much of that money would end up in the hands of the ITAA members who would bid for the work.
If the REAL ID Act becomes reality, U.S. citizens would be forced to provide copies of their birth certificate, social security card and other identification documents to the government to get the card. All of that data would be scanned and entered into fifty interconnected databases, one for each state. That would be a prime target for hackers, either through a direct attack or by attempts to compromise DMV employees for access. Jim Harper, who wrote the book linked above, says our identity theft problems today would be nothing compared to what would happen when (not if) that database was hacked. He also wrote about the ITAA issue yesterday, and the ACLU chimed in today.
The fact is that the REAL ID Act will cost billions, will do nothing to protect the country from terrorists, and no one stands to gain anything except for the technology and security companies who land the big contracts to build and maintain the system.
It is a shame to see these companies beg for handouts from the government, at the expense of their real customers (all of us).
The irony of all this is that you are providing official ID to get official ID.
So you already have REAL ID to begin with.
I wish [more government = better government]
Very creepy stuff that’s easy to forget about while paying attention to tech - but thanks for drawing the connection and calling out these companies. Brings to mind the recent “Self Discipline Pact” several of them signed promising to hand over the identities of dissident users to authoritarian governments.
I’m surprised we haven’t heard about a worldwide Google ID card yet.
Thanks but no thanks!
Michael, since you brought the issue up (sort of), how would you characterize yourself, politically?
MGZ - hard core libertarian.
It’s because you have to exchange your humanity for an MBA. Corporate clones are like non-human entities that actually eat money. They need to eat cash dollars to survive.
Good post, way to highlight the issue.
“Worldwide in 2003 IT accounted for approximately $2.4 Trillion or 6.8% of GDP according to Digital Planet 2004. Of that total, governments worldwide accounted for approximately $398 Billion of spending, or 16.6% of total ICT spending in the world. Perhaps more importantly, by 2007, government spending on ICT is expected to grow to $549.6 Billion. The trade conclusion that can be drawn from these statistics is that ICT is an industry important to the U.S., and frankly, to the rest of the world. A market in excess of $2 trillion is one where the U.S. wants to participate.” (From itaa.org)
Yeah, I bet they each want a piece of that $549 Billion pie.
Amen to this, Michael.
by the way, i almost used this image for the post -
http://www.starstore.com/acata.....heet_L.jpg
nice to see you breathing a bit of fire this morning and calling companies on their
actions
“The fact is that the REAL ID Act will cost billions, will do nothing to protect the country from terrorists, and no one stands to gain anything except for the technology and security companies who land the big contracts to build and maintain the system.”
Exactly. And that is why here in Montana, even our governor raises his center phalanges to propositions of this sort.
http://www.stateline.org/live/.....tId=199732
“National ID cards are not proper in a free society. This is America, not Soviet Russia. The federal government should never be allowed to demand papers from American citizens, and it certainly has no constitutional authority to do so.”
-Ron Paul in 2004
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul222.html
Michael, thanks for drawing attention to this extremely important issue.
Still wondering what you think about the estimated $4.5 million round for Global grind.
Michael- Any chance you’ll have some Ron Paul banner ads on this site?
thanks for spreading the word about this HUGELY important issue with a great blog post and accurate insight.
thumbs up for techcrunch.
I may soon be swayed to Ron Paul . . .
“It is a shame to see these companies beg for handouts from the government, at the expense of their real customers (all of us).”
Tis pitiful and piti-fool. Brings to mind all kinds of futuristic and dsytopian media and literature. They may get rich, but they’ll send the country to hell in a handbasket.
the people who are talking about this stuff are the same people who think excel is a database, and their laptop is a database server.
I’m disappointed in these companies for supporting this, but realize they are in business to make money…
The real question is what will WE the people do? Not to turn this too political, as I’m sure the readership here is smart enough to decide for themselves but if you are open-minded you owe it to yourself to at least research candidate Ron Paul. There is a reason his fundraising call went out asking for $500,000 in the last week of this quarter and got it in about 70 hours! The goal is now 1Mil and looks like it will be reached … in just 1 week! watch the count live at ronpaul2008.com
Anything that is proposed during the tenure of the dispicable president George Bush should be delayed till a new president with a new mandate is in place. In spite of the countless screwups under this administration, I can’t fathom why ppl still give a f..k about what they have proposed. Anything this administration does, Just say No. I understand that this is how the system works, but when are ppl going to get a spine to stand up.
“hard core libertarian” - may I point out at not liberal.
Ah.. these lawyers, you got to love them…
By the way, Mike is a Republican from what people around Stanford say (nothing wrong with that, just making that public
Michael - I am impressed. Now that’s you’ve gone down this road, you might want to include an article about VeriChip and the Amero in the future.
That is why political funding and lobbying need to be destroyed, worldwide, the only thing the gov should listen to is votes … each MS employee can have a vote, that should be it.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who is against the Real ID.
There was a debate a month or so ago…and 9 Republicans before him said they are for it. Then Ron Paul got his turn to speak and he blasted it…saying exactly what kind of problems a Real ID would bring
After that EVERY candidate started out his next answer to a different question with…”to get back to the real ID question..what I meant was ……”
And to all those saying Ron Paul has no chance: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/ he is already top tier. He is going to raise 1 million in 1 week(by comparison John Edwards is trying to raise 1 million in 10 days)
oh and if you want to donate to Ron Paul campaign…I suggest you do it before Sunday, because that is when the quarter ends, and #s get reported.
Why?
Because it’s smart!
These other companies obviously have a different though!
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
There are plenty of other countries in the world who are able to combine greater freedom than what is experienced by the citizens in this country with some type of national ID system…
Wow, i guess Techcrunch has turned into a political blog/gossip column/tech blog…
This is not news, this is a political opinion that has nothing to do with technology, except to say that big tech companies have incentives for certain legislation to pass and others not to…. WOW… what a breakthrough idea
There is not even a direct comment about security technology, just a complaint about data being stored in databases. I can’t believe this sort of opinion is coming from a technology blog, I’m starting to think that Mike knows nothing about technology and just follows trendy Web 2.0 piece of crap companies… A LOT of person information is already stored in databses? Do you have a bank account, have you ever used an ATM? databases!!! They’re all run on databases!
Funny how Mint won at techcrunch, yet there was no concern about privacy there…
Pick a stance, you can’t be supportive of Web 2.0 and cry out about how databases are prone to hackers. The majority of products on the web store personal information in databses. If you think REAL ID is bad for all of us, then so are all of these Web 2.0 companies. I expect better logic from a stanford law grad.
I don’t like this new direction that Techcrunch has been taking lately…
Roman…U seem to forget that this is primarily a blog..that happens to also cover web 2.0 among many things. A blog can go side ways while still being relavent to its core audience.
@29 Roman yes they are stored in a database…but if a hacker hacks one, your whole life isn’t stolen. Here you have ALL of your information in one place. And you can bet your ass it’ll be a higher target because you can get your hands on all the information
Roman,
While you do bring up valid points, I’m glad Mike posted this. In fact, I’m glad he’s been taking a more hands on approach to his blog lately instead of letting his writers run it.
And btw… we can complain all we want (I’m majorly vocal about some stuff here), but as long as we’re still subscribed there’s not much we can really say.
“If you think REAL ID is bad for all of us, then so are all of these Web 2.0 companies.”
Ah. REAL ID equates with Web 2.0 companies. That statement speaks for itself.
Hey Michael,
The photo you actually used is much more telling, definitely the better choice.
Good post, not really off topic at all. Sad to see these big companies selling out the people and themselves for a few contracts. It’s shortsighted stuff like this that comes back to bite you down the road.
All the labels - Liberal, Republican, etc. that people like to throw around are a replacement for thinking for yourself. Yeah, it’s easy to pick the party choice.
How about a more simple definition? Maybe something along the lines of “Fascist stuff like this that destroys civil liberties and makes government even BIGGER and MORE omnipotent is a bad thing - let’s not vote for it”.
D&J
Andrew,
Isn’t this the entire concept of Mint? all of your credit cards and financial information in one place, and not only do they store it, they analyze it for you…
yet this won at techcrunch40 and has been praised…
you guys really don’t think there’s a disconnect here?
I don’t have a strong political opinion on the issue, I just think that the technological argument is weak, hypocritical in light of the praise Mint and other receive, and is really just a way to tie in technology to a purely political post… which is fine, but will alienate most of the readers I know. Which is also fine I suppose.
I think this is one of those tough things where business, personal believes and politics collide head on. I do not blame these companies for trying to make money, but sometime I wandered when “enough is enough” for these guys. But each one of them should the the “right thing”; which may be different depending on each company.
A touch call.
I am with most of you. The ID will not solve problems but make existing ones worse.
@Roman - the difference is really simple. *Private* companies such as Mint are opt-in at your own choice and risk. REAL ID mandates your information be handed over for whatever tracking/handling Big Brother sees fit. Seriously borg style my friend.
Michael, you’re now back on my favorites list….
@ Jerome, I’m not comparing the two politically, I understand that one is opt-in and the other is not.
The point is that conceptually, and technologically, they both face the same “risks” you mentioned. Yet the posts about Mint praise it, encouraging you to opt in. If you truly believe that existing technology is so unsafe, I don’t understand how you can encourage people to join Mint.
Thanks Michael… you are spot on.
To (2) Wayne who said, “I wish [more government = better government],” this may be why the government continues to gorge itself at the citizen’s expense. There are too many who just *want* to believe that government can do good. Government is not meant to “do good”… it is simply meant to protect our liberties. Everything else should be up to the individual.
To (35) Roman, one of the many things you are failing to recognize is the difference between a system that is implemented through force under threat of violence (government/law/enforcement/prison) or a system that is joined voluntary, is subjected to competition in a free market, and only receives funding if the consumer is continually pleased with the service (private companies). This particular distinction should be crystal clear to anyone reading a entrepreneur-related blog.
It amazes me that we’re so generally so ignorant and so forgiving of corporations.
There’s a huge difference between a Mint type service and a National ID. One is voluntary the other is not. There are a ton of business consequences related to this fact; just take some time and think how a mandatory versus voluntary information data service would behave. Which has more incentive to properly secure your data?
Quit giving corporations a free-ride because at some point you were conned into thinking a corporations’ sole purpose is “to make money.” Would you truly want to live in a world where this is the case? The only way this can be true is if the behavior were generally accepted. Unfortunately, consumers have become ignorant of corporate behavior, thus allowing less accountability. However, the tide is changing and the extreme pain necessary to open the eyes of the American consumer is coming; the currency is going to continue it’s decline or it will collapse altogether.
The last statement may sound doomsdayish, but China’s peg to the dollar is becoming more and more pressured. At some point they will need to abandon the peg. Some say, “but they need the US to import goods.” Maybe not. They’ve been siphoning off the US wealth nicely with the help of US mega-corporations - they’re creating their own class of consumers. If you have 1.3 billion people, it’s not impossibly difficult to replace the 300 million US consumers with the right strategy.
Look at my posts in Mint thread…I blasted the service exactly for the same reason. And I do not plan to use it. The difference like it was pointed out, is here every single person in the country is forced to participate.
+ As I pointed out in the mint thread…those same posts reeked of Mint staff promoting thier product.
This real id, is the “PAPERS PLEASE” from Nazi Germany.
Actually I wonder if you realize that you don’t have to present an ID to anyone right now? The driver’s license is not an ID, its proof that you can operate the vehicle.
@Roman - there are just a few bills that I don’t pay online, because it’s not yet available. I look forward to when I can do it all online. If my data gets hacked they only have the info in that separate db. But data safety is not really the point. The point is these companies can’t track and spy on *ME* which is the BIG difference between online data and the REAL ID program.
What is wrong with these corporations (and governments alike)? It’s sickening. What ever happened to the betterment of society, of people? Why can’t you make profits while doing the right thing? Only the weak, cowardly, slothful CEOs would do otherwise.
Their greed is fruitless because it has no greater purpose other than sustaining a revenue stream - in the case of REAL ID, a revenue stream at the detriment of society. That is empty and will receive no reward, here nor the next level, if there is one. These tools think they’re gods and emperors. Fuck them.
@44…thats the problem with public companies…you have to show increases in profit no matter what. Even if you are making 500 trillion a year, you better show an increase next year, or you might get fired.
OK, understand and sympathize that this is a waste of money. However, it is in no way a “conflict of interest” for the corporation lobbying to see it funded. Their interest is in making cabbage, pure and simple.
I thought Duncan wrote this post when I first read it through email, figured he would be getting slammed in the comments.
Its interesting to see the business side of this stuff and how the big boys position themselves to make a killing on it if it goes through. While I cannot blame them for trying to make a buck off something I can blame them for supporting and pushing for this crap. I doubt anyone at the higher levels look at anything but the bottom line when addressing issues like this and any PR fallout is probably worth the risk.
Awesome article. Very well put, as how does a piece of plastic stop someone from blowing anything up. Not like they know every single terrorist, and it seems unlikely a known terrorist would even try to enter the U.S. these days. Seems more like a great way to catalog every US citizen. Like a creapy Sci-Fi, when the cards expire version 2 will be a bar code on the back of your neck. Is like the whole of the US is in a concentration camp or something (I thought the Nazi’s serial numbering Jewish people was a bad thing).
they should implement this ID program like the current health care situation - if you *want* an ID, you have to buy it yourself, and if you can’t afford one (or don’t want one) then you just don’t get one.
making the government pay for everyone’s ID?? that’s communism!!
Thanks for raising awareness for this issue. My state legislature already passed resolutions against it.