Privacy vs. Security: Biometric E-Passports

ftblguy writes "Countries such as the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, US, Australia, and New Zealand are currently looking into adding RFID chips to citizens' passports. The chips would contain data such as a digital image of the person's face. A real-time facial scan of the carrier of the passport would then be matched to the data encoded in the chip. But privacy advocates such as CASPIAN are concerned that this data could get into the hands of the wrong people or that governments could use the data to track their citizens as they go about their personal business. But, with all of the terrorist threats lately, bringing passport documents into the digital world is sure to increase security."

Comments

Just wait

[sugapablo]

Soon they'll want to implant RFID tags (or something similar) in your left molar. Everyone will be able to be traced from a simpe computer terminal. Great for parents who's kids are kidnapped, or hikers lost in the mountains, bad for everyone else.

Re:Just wait

[denthijs]

And all in good spirit of a non existant terror threat.
America hasn't put itself on a threatlevel lower then orange and probably never will.
A quote from 1984 might be the best justification for this;

The war isn't meant to be won, the war is meant to be continuous

I only hope the US-citizens will see this for what it is and not re-elect another 4 years of warmongering.

dupe

[mishmash]

dupe!

digital != greater security

[tpgp]

bringing passport documents into the digital world is sure to increase security."

Surely noone believes that do they? Why?

Digital is inherently easier to copy then analogue - I think this would decrease security.

Kidding, right?

[CleverMonkey]

Whenever I hear "with all of the terrorist threats lately, bringing passport documents into the digital world is sure to increase security," I cringe. The idea that something which sounds like increased security will actually amount to increased security without any real analysis is an all too common reaction these days.

Think about the TSA (Thousands Standing Around|Take Scissors Away) - does taking knitting needles make anyone safer? The biggest change in airline safety because of 9/11 was 9/11. Before folks figured that they could just quietly land in Cuba and live on peanuts for a few days before they would be brought home. All that has changed, but it didn't require billions of dollars, air marshals, or any of the other visible crap the government did to create the illusion of security.

While biometric passports might make identification more certain, you need to fully look at who/where/how passports are used, and see if these measures will actually be useful in the real world. Urg.

Re:The price you pay...

[tpgp]

...if you don't want terrorists to drive airplanes into large buildings

You are a retard.

The 11/9/2001 terrorists had valid passports. This system would have done nothing to prevent that attack.

"with all of the terrorist threats lately"

[AC-x]

How the hell will this protect us from terrorism? I'm sick and tired of our governments trying to implement 1984 under our noses in the name of security.

For example, I'm sure no-one would notice if a farmer bought a load of fertilizer and diesel fuel, and no one would notice if he drove a van into the centre of some large city, but that's all he'd need to do to blow up a lot of people.

The only way we can truly protect ourselves is to quite literally monitor everyone's actions 24-7, but if that were the case I'd rather live in North Korea.

I disagree

[savagedome]

But, with all of the terrorist threats lately, bringing passport documents into the digital world is sure to increase security

First of all, and as 300 other comments would be pointing out by now, all those bastards on 9/11 planes had valid passports too. Whether passport is valid or not doesn't prove nothing.

Plus, IMHO, its harder to forge a non-digital passport. Thats a real skill. You can't walk into Radioshack, buy $70 worth of equipment, come back home and start playing with the RFIDs on the passport if its digital and all.

If its a non-digital passport, sure as hell if you indeed plan on forging/tampering it, you will have to find someone highly skilled that can accomplish that. And, if its a bad forgery job, its very easy for a human being to spot that.

My 0.02