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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.""

2 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. Re:No air travel?! by kabrakan · · Score: 5, Informative

    Customs isn't mainly for crime, its for economics. At least at the canadian border, i see people held back all the time because they brought too many goods over and the receiving side wants to tax their stuff. The next thing they're worrying about is foreign food that could introduce diseases.

    You're right that this is useless tech however. It takes about 4 seconds for a border officer to process your passport. The reason there are bottlenecks at ports of entry is because there tends to be a maximum of two border agents for every 50 people trying to cross.

    --
    Slartibartfast:"Is that your robot?"
    Marvin:"No, I'm mine."
  2. Re:Awesome by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Informative
    What's really cool is that now terrorists can rig bombs that only kill people carrying American passports.

    It's not just about Americans.

    Australians have had to use RFID-embedded passports for the past couple of years to comply with US regulations. Can't say it's sped up my travels at all.

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."