Demands for ID credentials from hotel guests are once again in the public eye, with commenters in travel journalist Christopher Elliott’s blog weighing in with opinions on his recent article about an Orlando hotel, Hotel shows customer the door after he refuses to show ID — can it do that? This sort of thing doesn’t […]
The lawyer for Legrand Jones had argued that it’s not a crime to refuse to identify yourself to police. Attorney William Ferrell said police were stopping people without cause during the July protest to gather information and discourage demonstrators. Under state law, it’s not a crime to refuse to identify oneself to police. “The Washington […]
Even before the Secure Flight proposal goes into effect (and before there is any experience of whether it can be implemented or how it will work), the TSA is proposing to extend its air travel control and surveillance principles from passenger airlines to general aviation and all-cargo flights. On October 9, 2008, the TSA issued […]
The head of the Transportation Security Administration, Kip Hawley, says that the agency will likely relax its restrictions on liquids on commercial flights next year, the Wall Street Journal reports. The rules were put in place after an alleged plot to bring “a liquid bomb” onto planes heading to the US from the UK. In […]
The state of New York has begun issuing (pdf) so-called “enhanced” driver’s licenses (or EDLs). These licenses contain RFID tags and include the individual’s citizenship status on the face of the cards. They are issued under the Department of Homeland Security’s “Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative” and will be used as alternatives to passports for crossing […]
A report from the Colorado State Auditor reveals that the state DMV’s data security system is so flawed that it puts the personal information of 3.4 million driver’s license and state ID cardholders at risk of identity theft or fraud. The State Auditor told the Colorado legislature that, among other things, the Colorado DMV “does […]
The Washington Post reports on a new identification program from the DC government. DC wants to use the “One Card” to track “library accounts, public school attendance, recreation-center use and other services,” and “Metro riders can have a SmarTrip chip implanted in the card.” The DC government’s chief technology officer says, “The eventual goal is […]
George Hulme at InformationWeek has an interesting story about a Target store scanning his driver’s license when he went to buy Nicorette gum: Now, during checkout, the cashier asks to “see” my driver’s license. Alright, since I’ve been carded before buying controlled substances, I figure she needs to check my age. Before I have a […]
The Partnership for Civil Justice, a Washington DC-based public interest law firm, filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking an injunction against the Metropolitan Police Department’s Neighborhood Safety Zone checkpoint program. The lawsuit asserts that the roadblock program instituted in recent weeks is an unconstitutional […]
The UK House of Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee is warning the British government that its massive national identity card scheme could threaten privacy. In a report (pdf), the Committee said it was especially concerned “about the potential for ‘function creep’ in terms of the surveillance potential of the National Identity Scheme.” The Committee urged […]