3 replies to this topic

[spy1]

http://www.aclu.org/...rs20070301.html

ACLU Slams Draft DHS Regulations on Real ID, Says Delay Fails to Address Privacy and Civil Liberties Concerns (3/1/2007)

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http://cdt.org/

DHS Issues REAL ID Regulations; CDT Urges Repeal of Law

The Department of Homeland Security has issued proposed regulations implementing the REAL ID Act, which would require states to adopt tighter standards and create a networked system for driver's license issuance. Given the Act's fundamental flaws, CDT has joined other civil liberties groups in supporting legislation introduced in recent days in the House and Senate to repeal the hastily-enacted 2005 law and return to the driver's license reform process begun by the previous Congress. CDT is especially concerned that the Act would result in the creation of a linked network of government databases of personal information, without standards or limits on access and use. March 01, 2007

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http://epic.org/

After Long Delay, Homeland Security Department Issues Regulations for Flawed National ID Plan
More than two years after Congress rushed through passage of the REAL ID Act (pdf), the Department of Homeland Security announced today proposed regulations (pdf) that would turn the state driver's license into a national identity card. The estimated cost of the plan exceeds $11 billion and the national ID system will increase security risks (pdf) as well as the threats to personal privacy. Proposals to repeal Real ID have been adopted in the states and introduced in Congress. For more information, see EPIC's National ID Cards and REAL ID Act page. (Mar. 1)

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Folks, S. 717 is Sen. Akaka's proposal for repealing the RealID Act's worst details (look it up on Thomas).

If you have never before in your life written to your Representative or Senators to support a bill, now is the time to do so!

Go here: http://www.theorator.com/senate.html or here: http://www.theorator...ment/house.html - and either call or FAX in support of this bill! Pete

[spy1]

http://www.schneier....d_costs_an.html

[spy1]

I just got an "Action Alert from EFF about the very same thing:

"* Action Alert - Repeal the REAL ID Act!

The federal government took another step last week towards
forcing you to carry a national ID in order to get on
airplanes, open a bank account, enter federal buildings,
and much more. But with state legislatures and
Congressional representatives increasingly turning against
the REAL ID Act, you can help stop this costly, privacy-
invasive mandate -- voice your opposition now:
http://action.eff.or...Advocacy?id=275

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
released draft regulations for implementing REAL ID, which
makes states standardize drivers' licenses and create a
vast national database linking all of the ID records
together. Once in place, uses of the IDs and database will
inevitably expand to facilitate a wide range of tracking
and surveillance activities. Remember, the Social Security
number started innocuously enough, but it has become a
prerequisite for a host of government services and has been
co-opted by private companies to create massive databases
of personal information.

REAL ID won't just cost you your privacy. The states and
individual taxpayers bear the estimated 23 billion dollar
burden of implementing the law, and that figure is probably
low given that the necessary verification systems don't
exist yet.

And what will you get in return? Not improved national
security, because IDs do little to stop those who haven't
already been identified as threats, and wrongdoers will
still be able to create fake documents.

REAL ID is fundamentally flawed, and DHS' proposed
regulations do nothing to change that. Thankfully, the tide
is turning against REAL ID in a big way -- state
legislatures around the country are passing or considering
legislation rejecting its implementation, and Congress is
considering repealing it.

The DHS regulations mean that states must have an
implementation plan ready by October 2007. Make sure your
Congressional representatives support the repeal of REAL ID
before it's too late:
http://action.eff.or...Advocacy?id=275

Read the San Jose Mercury News' editorial, "Time to drop
expensive, unrealistic ID plan":
http://www.mercuryne...on/16843010.htm

For more information about the REAL ID Act:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/ID/RealID/

...............

There's really not much more any thinking individual NEEDS to know about to do something about the REALId issue - the .pdf of the bill itself and the EFF, CDT & ACLU literature cover the ramifications of this thing from all angles.

There is already legislation proposed to fix this: support it!

I firmly recommend using the EFF "Advocacy" link above (as well as FAX'ing and calling your Reps about the issue). Pete

[spy1]

How to add a "Comment" to proposed "Regulations" or "Rules" by various government agencies

Let's go ahead and use the "REALId" proposed regulations for this example, since the "Comment" period is still open for that.

To begin with, it's important for you to know (if you want your voice heard on a particular issue, anyway) that proposed "regulations" by any government agency are normally done with a "Comment period" included, to get feedback not just from business' or other agencies, but from the public itself.

Finding out about a proposed regulation that could seriously impact your freedom or privacy in some respect is NOT always an easy thing to do.

Proposed "Regulations" or "Rules" can be found in the Federal Register ( http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html ) - they get announced there first, generally. You could constantly keep an eye on that for new stuff, but I've found it easier to rely on the various "privacy" and "freedom"-related organizations to tip me off when I need to respond.
In the case of "REAL ID", I found out about the "Comment" period from C.D.T ( http://cdt.org/headlines/975 ), followed the link from that page ( "Draft Proposed Regulations" ) and by page 2 of that, it was telling me about the "Comment" period:

"DATES: Submit comments by [Insert date 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register].

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the DHS docket number DHS-2006-0030 that corresponds to this rulemaking, using any one of the following methods:

1. Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

1. Fax: 866-466-5370.

1. Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions can be mailed to the Department of Homeland Security, Attn: NAC 1-12037, Washington, D.C. 20528."

(I bolded & underlined the "docket no." because we're fixing to need that very shortly).

So we click on the regulations.gov link above; click in the radio button in front of "Documents Open for Public Comment" to select it; click on the context menu to the right of "Document Type" and then select "Dept. Of Homeland Security*" and either type - exactly - the DHS-2006-0030 into the "Keyword or ID" field, or c&p it into there and then click "Submit".

On the page that comes up, slide your cursor all the way over to the little yellow balloon on the right and click on it (your tool tip thing should tell you "Add Comment" when you hover over the balloon).

This brings you - finally - to the "Comment Form" page. You type in ALL required information (down to "Submitter's Representative, generally, if you're a private citizen making a comment) and then - Glory be! - you get to type in your comment. Do so, being as cool and level-headed as possible. Add an attachment with your comment in a Word .doc - it looks and reads better.

Then click on "Next Step" at the bottom of that page.

Check all your info on the page that comes up for correctness, including your comment itself. Make sure the attachment (if you included one) is still there. If you need to "Edit" something, do so with the "Edit" button.

If not, click on "Submit". Write down your "Comment tracking Number" ! And/or use the "Print" link on that page! Click on "Close and go back".

Don't be concerned if your comment doesn't show up instantaneously after you successfully complete it - it won't. It'll show up in their own sweet time - but it will show up. FI, my comment number for this example will be DHS-2006-0030-0018. To make matters easier, you can now bookmark the Comments page for any particular "rule" to make it easier to return to and keep up with - you can also choose to have notifications emailed to you when anyone posts a comment on that particular issue.

Now - you want to see what everyone else has been saying? Good! Click on the "Document ID" number (in this case, DHS-2006-0030) and - WAL-LA! - you can start reading others' comments by clicking on either the "PDF" or "HTML" icons in the far-right column.