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US Government To Release Electronic Passport

Posted by samzenpus on from the all-the-better-to-track-you-with dept.

XueCast writes "The federal government has announced that they will release new electronic Passport cards in either April or May 2008. The cards could be read wirelessly from up to 20 feet away, which could reduce the waiting time at border checkpoints. Deputy Assistant Secretary Of State For Passport Services, Ann Barrett said, "As people are approaching a port of inspection, they can show the card to the reader, and by the time they get to the inspector, all the information will have been verified and they can be waved on through.""

3 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Wonderful. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    you dont need rfid to identify American Tourists abroad, they are pretty obvious anyway.

  2. Re:Awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Funny. You're the seventh Jack Bauer through here today. Oh well, the computer says you're OK, so go on in."

  3. Re:Ummm. by roystgnr · · Score: 5, Funny

    You seem to have reached that awkward transitional stage where you're smarter than the government, but not yet smart enough to realize that yes, you really are smarter than the government.

    Don't panic. The transition doesn't take very long, and when it's complete you'll be amazed to discover how much else starts making sense too.