In June, the Department of Homeland Security and the President’s Cybersecurity Coordinator published a proposal and request for comments on a for a “National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace” (NSTIC). It’s hard to belive that such a system implemented from the top down at the behest of DHS and the White House would remain, […]
We note with interest the recent decision in Doe v. Reed (No. 09-599), which marks the first time in a few years that the Supreme Court has directly (albeit somewhat uncertainly) addressed whether the government can permissibly require individuals to be publicly identified. Leaving aside what the legal implications of the ruling may be, we […]
S. 3427, a bill introduced in the Senate this week by Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX), would require would require ID “verification” as a prerequite to buying a prepaid cell phone or SIM card. The seller or reseller of the phone or SIM card would be required to collect your personal information […]
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the new Arizona “immigration” law, S.B. 1070, which we mentioned earlier in this blog. As we read the text (PDF) of the law it imposes no new requirement to show ID credentials or other evidence of identity. On the contrary, it gives people even more reasons to […]
Heads up, Arizona readers: Your state legislature is on the verge of enacting a REAL-ID type national ID requirement in the guise of “immigration reform”. And a heads up to readers elsewhere: Congress is also considering an ID mandate as part of an “immigration reform” bill. For a while after 9/11, the excuse offered by […]
From time to time, people ask us, “But why don’t you want to show ID when you travel? What’s wrong with that?” There are probably as many answers to that question as there are people who resist government demands to show ID when they travel, even when it’s scary and involves some personal risk to […]
Whenever questions are raised about national ID schemes like REAL-ID or PASS-ID, their more public-relations savvy proponents are always quick to say, “But of course this isn’t a national ID card”. The same goes for L-1 Identity Solutions, the prime drivers license, ID card, and ID and biometric database contractor, aggregator, and data miner for […]
The new “reality” television show Homeland Security USA has prompted a Facebook group calling for it to be taken off the air, and protests against its bigotry outside the ABC-TV / Walt Disney Corp. offices in Burbank, even while ratings and viewership have been falling steadily since the first episode. This week, though, the show […]
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 […]