Smart id cards

Final task: SMART ID CARDS

Hello, we are 3 members of the ACLU committee investigating SMART ID CARDS. Today we are gonna introduce you to the different risks of the use of this technology concerning respect of civil liberties.

First, let’s talk about what SMART ID CARDS are. This is a plastic card holding at least a small integrated circuit which contains information. For example we can name vital cards, identity cards…

We have noticed that SMART ID CARDS have different advantages. For instance, when someone had an accident and must go to the hospital, and if he is difficult to identify, these cards can give all the information the doctors need. When someone is suspected of a crime, these cards can help police officers to certify if this person is really the person they think he is. And so with this help, they could arrest him. ID CARDS help the fight against identity theft. When a country established ID cards, it is more difficult to be victim of forgery because the owner can prove his identity. Nowadays, many businesses require customers to show their ID cards.

Although SMART ID CARDS provide an easier identification and a better international security, we deplored many problems caused by National ID Cards. National ID cards were born after the terrorist attacks of September, 11th, 2001, in order to verify the identity of airlines passengers and prevent terrorists from entering the country. ACLU noticed that it offers only a false sense of security and will not enhance our security, but it will pose serious threats to our civil liberties.

The first problem is that a national ID card system would not solve the problem that is inspiring it: in September, 11th, 2001, hijackers had identification documents and were in the country legally, so it shows that national ID card would not solve the problem of terrorism. Moreover, it would be easier for terrorists to create a fraudulent document to get a government ID. Finally, it would cost about $4 billion, which won’t solve complex social and economic problems.

The second one is that an ID card system will lead to a slippery slope of surveillance and monitoring of citizens: It would create a system of internal passports that would significantly reduce the freedom and privacy of citizens. A national ID system would threaten the privacy that Americans have always enjoyed and gradually increase the control that government and business wields on the citizens.

Thirdly, a national ID card system would require creation of a database of all Americans: it would require a governmental database of every person in the U.S. It would also contain many errors, which could make someone unemployable. Government agencies would soon ask to link into it, while employers, landlords, credit agencies, mortgage brokers, direct mailers, landlords, private investigators, civil litigants, and a long list of other parties would begin seeking access, which would compromised American’s privacy.

The fourth problem is that ID cards would function as “internal passports” that monitor citizens’ movements: if a police officer or security guard scans your ID card, it will create a document in a data base with all the information your ID card hold in. The risk is that office buildings, doctors' offices, gas stations, highway tolls, subways and buses recover this information and use them

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