Our blogs about
America's Wars
War on Iraq
War on Drugs
War on Afghanistan
War on Columbia
War on Philippines
War on Venezuela

MORE
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
Katrina's Aftermath
US News
Bush Crime Family News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Support Bloggers' Rights!

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Big Brother Now Putting Electronic Chips in Passports
(Jonathan Krim, Washington Post, October 26, 2005)
The State Department yesterday issued final rules for implanting electronic identification chips into all U.S. passports, despite continuing controversy over the security of the system and its impact on personal privacy. . . . The regulations mean that as of October 2006, all new and renewed U.S. passports will contain radio frequency identification chips that will include a digital photo and all other information currently printed in passports. . . . Over time, as older passports expire, everyone who holds a passport will get an electronic version. . . . In issuing the new rules, the department is matching a requirement it is imposing on visitors from several other countries. Foreigners from countries who do not need visas to enter the United States also must have the chips by next October. Such countries will be responsible for providing their citizens with passports that comply with U.S. entry requirements. . . . the department said that 98.5 percent of the 2,335 comments it received since it issued proposed rules last spri ng opposed the program. . . . Technology experts have said that the data on the chips, which will be read at a short distance by electronic devices in a passport-control booth, could be electronically intercepted and potentially misused. . . . Some privacy groups also fear that the chips could be a prelude to tracking individuals' movements. . . . The department rejected calls to encrypt, or scramble, the data on the passport. . . . The department also rejected some calls for using a smart-card-type chip that must come into contact with the reader, as opposed to a radio frequency identification chip that can be read at a distance. . . . The chips will have enough memory so additional biometric information could be added in the future.

posted by LoZo 1:03 PM