"The ID Divide"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Peter Swire [peter () peterswire net]
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 8:39 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: RE: Re:    "The ID Divide"

Dave:

Thanks for posting a number of responses on "The ID Divide" to your list.

I think it is fair to say that each of the points raised in the thread is discussed in the report itself, so no need to 
respond in detail.

One of the most striking things I learned in working on the project, though, is the gap between what we call the 
"credentialed" and the "uncredentialed."  Almost all people who work on identification policy have a wallet full of 
credentials, and find it hard to imagine that any lawful resident of the U.S. does not.

The report addresses this in part by underscoring how the ID Divide can affect people who thought their identity was 
secure, such as the over 8 million persons/year who suffer ID theft or the over 1 million names who will be on the 
no-fly list by the end of 2008.

In addition, though, there are key driving-related reasons why millions lack a government-issued ID.  To name a few 
from a longer list:

*       Over a million Americans are legally blind, and many others have disabilities that make it difficult to drive.
*       Studies show elderly people often let their licenses expire.
*       States suspend large numbers of licenses each year, often for people too poor to pay non-driving related fees 
or fines due the state.  In Wisconsin, to pick one example, your license can be suspended for failing to shovel your 
sidewalk.
*       New data in our report show that 20-25% of licenses issued each year are for lost, stolen, or mutilated 
licenses.  As fees rise for ID, and it becomes stricter and more expensive to provide proof of name change (marriage, 
divorce, adoption) and other required documents, the effects on poorer families is greater.

ID systems, to be effective and fair, need to scale to a population of over 300 million.  That is why our report seeks 
to develop principles for assessing and developing ID approaches that work for the full range of people in our society.

Peter

Prof. Peter P. Swire
C. William O'Neil Professor of Law
   Moritz College of Law
   The Ohio State University
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
(240) 994-4142, www.peterswire.net


-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 7:36 AM
To: ip
Subject: [IP] Re: "The ID Divide"


________________________________________
From: Mary Shaw [mary.shaw () gmail com]
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 12:40 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: [IP] Re: "The ID Divide"

Dave,

This discussion is ignoring an important population, people who are neither illegal nor privacy advocates.

One of my colleagues formerly worked with a medical clinic serving indigent clients.  He has told me that one of their 
problems was tracking clients -- that is, matching a client in the clinic today with his or her history at that or 
other clinics.

You might expect that an ID card would solve, or at least help with, this problem.  But he reports that the clients 
didn't retain and bring back ID cards. If I understand correctly, many clients didn't see the ID card as an item of any 
significance; if it had any value they'd have no hesitation to trade it away.

So a discussion of universal ID needs to consider how to persuade people that ID matters and how they can maintain 
physical security of the ID token..

That problem is even more intractable than the technology problems, and I think it's another reason why universal ID 
won't succeed.

Mary Shaw


-------------------------------------------
Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com



-------------------------------------------
Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com