The federal government has already deployed new detection machines that can scan citizens without their knowledge from as far as 50 feet away and "read" their personal documents such as passports or driver's licenses. The Homeland Security Department touts the high-tech devices as increasing security at border crossings, but privacy advocates are raising all sorts of red flags. Critics say the new machines, which read one's personal information right through a wallet or purse, do so without consent or a warrant and may set a worrisome precedent. The devices, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) machines, allow officials to read remotely any passports, pass cards, and driver's licenses that contain special chips with personal information. The RFIDs are so sensitive that, even before a vehicle pulls up at a border checkpoint, agents already will have on their computer screen the personal data of the passengers, including each person's name, date of birth, nationality, passport or ID number, and even a digitized photo. The new gadgets are in place, or soon will be, at five border crossings: Blaine, Wash.; Buffalo; Detroit; Nogales, Ariz.; and San Ysidro, Calif. They are slated to have a dramatically expanded presence in June. Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that the technology could make Americans less secure because terrorists or other criminals may be able to steal the personal information off the ID cards remotely. Tien and other critics warn that people up to no good can use their own RFID machines in a process called "skimming" to read the information from as far as 50 feet. Indeed, consumer privacy expert Katherine Albrecht maintains that the chips create the "potential for a whole surveillance network to be set up." Among other abuses, she says police could use them to track criminals; abusive husbands could use the technology to find their wives; and stores could trail the shopping patterns of patrons. Homeland Security, however, rebuts the criticism, arguing that the embedded chips surrender only a code to machine readers. That code is then broken in order to display the personal information on the border agents' screen. Meanwhile, the same agencies that are issuing the newfangled IDs supply a sleeve that keep out all prying electronic eyes when not in use | 
21 comments:
I'm sure the feds will release a statement to assure us that the new technology won't be used to track honest citizens. It will only be used to catch drug dealers, illegal aliens and terrorist. I'm going to go watch an older movie now, Enemy Of The State.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
To start with, if you're attempting to enter the US from another country YOU HAVE NO PRIVACY RIGHTS OR EXPECTATIONS!!!!!!!
I have come and gone dozens of times, mainly for the government, and I didn't even get any slack. Once in a while it made me want to flip out, but there's a good reason for that attitude on the border. If you are a legal American citizen within our borders, then the Constitution applies to you. If not, get in line and deal with intense scrutiny!
Morgan
Morgan...this is for US, from what I can tell...am I wrong?
I don't know. I'm skeptical about this story. Especially about the reading of info through purses and wallets, etc. Something's off somewhere here.
Well Z, that wasn't the impression that I got reading the article. Even Detroit is a border city with Canada, right? If this is a border issue, I couldn't care what methods they use to ID you, within reason of course. If this is internal, I have HUGE problems with it.
Morgan
Critics say the new machines, which read one's personal information right through a wallet or purse, do so without consent or a warrant and may set a worrisome precedent.
I hope you'll forgive the obvious question, but what "right to privacy" do people enjoy when they cross our borders? The answer, none.
We know what a border is, right? Well, so too is every international airport, and how many of them are there in the USA? Every shipping port is a border.
Last, why would honest citizens care whether the government ID's them or not? If we are concerned about this "intrusion," why aren't we also complaining about closed circuit TV cameras on every corner, at every intersection, at every train station, in every airport, bank, and local CVS?
Just asking. I think we lost our right to privacy in 1984.
Mustang I'm with you when it comes to border crossings. You have NO right to privacy. I'm of a different mind when it comes to AMERICAN citizens within our own borders. We are then entitled to the full protection of the Constitution. I jealously guard our rights from government intrusion/trespass.
Morgan
Well, I'm with you guys since it's seemingly ONLY AT BORDERS...Why would any expert on this stuff also fear "abusive husbands could use the technology to find their wives; and stores could trail the shopping patterns of patrons" if there's no chance we could have this turn around on US? (By the way, AMAZON.COM, etc., have incredible shopping pattern information "other buyers of this book bought..." It's not QUITE the same, but..!!)
Yes, Mustang...I'm with you; if you're innocent, what do you care who's checking you, but it does smack of something I wish we didn't have to go near......you know?
With Democrats fully in charge of counter-terrorism again, Al Qaeda will be free to operate with impunity as long as they don't download Metallica songs from Napster.
There are times we need to take a step back from technology and examine what were doing.
Z, take a look at my post from tonight. one of Obama's advisers wants us to tighten the US-Mexico border to protect them from us.
If this new system works at the borders it's only a matter of time until it is put to use all across the country.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
First of all, any technology that exists or is developed, will be used. It's inevitable. We will be told it's necessary and for our own good. We will also be told if we've done nothing wrong, we have nothing to worry about.
"if you're innocent, what do you care who's checking you, but it does smack of something I wish we didn't have to go near......you know?"
I must say, who decides what innocent is, and what guarantee does anyone have that what is innocent today, will be innocent tomorrow?
Is there anyone here who knows with certainty what laws will be passed at some future date? I don't. What's innocent today is not necessarily innocent tomorrow.
Who here thought 30 years ago we would have hate crime or hate speech laws? Laws which divine your emotions or thoughts. How is this possible in a free country? It isn't.
Who here thought 30 years ago there would be sexual harrassment laws, or hostile work environment laws? I could go on but you get my drift.
You picked a prophetic year Mustang, Orwell is alive and well.
Pris
now we don't have to worry about this kind "recognizing" do we z? aren't the democrats even against having a voter i.d. card? they would never let us be spied on like this would they? (he says mockingly..)
Even if it is designed with the best of intentions it will inevitably be abused or worse, fall into the wrong hands.
George Orwell and Aldous Huxley foretold all of this with stunning clarity almost seventy years ago.
Margaret Atwood elaborated on the theme. Her nightmare vision The Handmaid's Tale is as chilling and distressing a volume as ever was written.
We have in human nature a fatal flaw, and that is the desire to exert POWER and CONTROL over the lives of others. We think we need to do this in order to achieve SECURITY.
As Shakespeare sad, "Security is mortals' chiefest enemy."
~ Macbeth
~ FreeThinke
Well, let's see, we must in my opinion ask this question:
HOW MANY DAMNED TERRORISTS OR ILLEGAL INVADERS WILL HAVE PROPER IDENTIFICATION OR ANY VALID "IDENTIFICATION" ON THEIR PERSONS AT ALL? AND HOW MANY OF THESE WILL WAIT RESPECTFULLY IN LINE AT A BORDER CROSSING WITH A SUITCASE NUKE IN A U-HAUL TRAILER?
It's not a matter of privacy. It's a matter of - come on! - use your brain!
BZ
Maybe we should inform mustang that it is American citizens who are being tracked and this tracking, especially under a "mustang" administration, is not likely to be limited to border travel.
I see little value in this program compared to the surveillance ability being given the government.
But when right wingers get scared, we know they'll give up anything.
Am I the only one who read the headline and thought this post was about scanners at Borders, the book store?
lol!
Once I read the post, I'm not overly disturbed by it. In fact, I'm not disturbed by it at all.
You want to come into this wonderful country, then you should be willing to have your intentions known. If you have terrorist ties, then we don't want you.
I'm not really very enthusiastic about that. I don't like things like being stopped by the Highway Patrol at a road check and forced to show my registration and id when I haven't done anything but drive by at that particular moment. I sure don't like the idea of the government being able to pull this kind of trick. Especially when I think about who "the government" will soon be comprised of, and what they might do with their data bases. It's already to the point where they can tell you what kind of toothpaste you use or what your last google search was.
CUBE! NO! ME, too! I swear I thought "ID scanners at the book store?!"
Everybody; this isn't just about borders, this is the possibility that it could be used everywhere.
Yes, I agree with Mustang, that we shouldn't worry if we're innocent...and there's something to be said for that. For example, twenty years ago, you could almost tell an illegal Hispanic here in LA if you just tried to look into someone's eyes in a friendly way as a silent 'hello'..they'd skitter away....and you'd know. You just knew. And it was very rare, by the way.
That MIGHT have worked at keeping people OUT....the fear of immigration finding you. Not anymore! They're almost all illegal around here now and they BOLDLY look at you as if "Ya, you and who ELSE?" I'm generalizing, there are MANY fantastically kind and nice immigrants..yes, even illegals (at the risk of getting you guys a bit riled)....but this sure doesn't work anymore.
So....if we KNOW somebody COULD be watching, wouldn't terrorists, illegals, etc. THINK TWICE?
ON the other hand...BZ's right; The illegals have tons of illegitimate documentation now..who's to say terrorists can't get that (and already have it?)
From the beginning of our days as a republic we have ALWAYS had an abundance of illegals --- particularly Mexicans --- easily crossing our essentially unguarded, thousand-mile-long southern border.
Traditionally these people came here looking for WORK, and not to make trouble. As such they were an asset, even a BLESSING to many American who desperately need to GET THINGS DONE.
It was never really an issue until 911.
HOWEVER, once again it is the DEMOCRATS who turned a once-advantageous situation into a NIGHTMARE that threatens to BANKRUPT most of the border states, BECAUSE the D'RATS are the ones who have INSISTED on giving these people free access to our school, our hospitals, our welfare system. And that pop-eyed FIEND, Antsy Peloser, even wants them to get SOCIAL SECURITY.
Before the D'Rats started to INTERVENE on behalf of the illegal immigrants it was a win-win situation for them AND for us.
NOW it has become a huge problem, because they KNOW they can come here and don't HAVE to WORK. Thanks to the D'Rats, they can sponge off the taxpayers like every other useless, shiftless, axe-grinding minority group who has been emasculated and turned into a state of helpless dependency by the Welfare State mentality --- which DOES this so its supporters can pile up enough votes to achieve PERMANENT INCUMBENCY.
And please don't call them "immigrants." they are NOT immigrants, they are ILLEGAL ALIENS.
But don't blame THEM, put the blame where it BELONGS --- squarely in lap of Liberal Democrats, whose policies are fundamentally insane and always SELF-SERVING.
My contempt for the mentality of Liberals Democrats know no bounds.
~ FreeThinke
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