Article

Identity card proposal criticized

“One of the hallmarks of free society is you don’t have to surrender total anonymity to the government.” Timothy Butz, director of American Civil Liberties Union, Nebraska
Melanie Mensch - Daily Nebrasken (U. Nebraska)

(U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. – Although no legislation exists yet for a national identity card, backers and opponents of the concept are kicking up dust around the idea. Two recent polls showed that more than half of Americans supported the creation of a national ID card in order to enhance the country’s security. A TIME/CNN poll in early October found that 60 percent favored a national ID, while 70 percent of those surveyed in a September Pew poll supported the idea.

But the sacrifice of personal privacy in the fight against terrorism is “misguided at best,” said Timothy Butz, executive director of American Civil Liberties Union Nebraska.

“We’ve (the ACLU) always been opposed to it,” Butz said. “One of the hallmarks of free society is you don’t have to surrender total anonymity to the government. A person can live a life as long as they live it legally.”

“A national ID would take away that sense of privacy.”

Part driver’s license, part social security card, the proposed card would contain basic information about the holder, including Social Security number, a digital fingerprint, a link to a federal database and a photograph.

According to ACLU Web site, the Social Security Administration estimates a national identity card would cost taxpayers at least $2.5 billion.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, computer bigwig Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, offered to donate the software to create a national ID free of charge.

The national ID concept itself isn’t new; as recent as the late 1990s, the card was debated in Congress as a possible solution to illegal immigration, gun control, national health care and Social Security reform.

However, the sophisticated technology behind the proposed card raises more concerns about potential fraud and abuse by both hackers and the government, Butz said.

“It’s certainly dangerous to think that any piece of ID will not be duplicated on the black market,” he said. “If they have the will and the money, people will obtain them. We will give away our privacy to create an illusion of security.”

“Data banks are not secure; hackers have proven this time and time again. The government can’t guarantee that the information stored on a computer is safeguarded.”

Although not advocating for the creation of a national identifier, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said the ID card was still an option.

“We must explore all possibilities here,” he said. “It’s part of a new way of thinking that has been brought on by the reality of Sept. 11.”

Hagel also said he didn’t “buy into any argument” about the card infringing upon civil liberties.

“The evil (of terrorism) is unprecedented,” Hagel said. “If a national ID for everyone helps law enforcement against terrorism, we’ve got to do it.”

Many countries, including France, Greece, Sweden and Spain, already have some form of a national identity card or document.

Graduate student Resat Karacan said his required national ID was similar to the American driver’s license in his homeland, Turkey. The laminated ID shows a person’s date of birth, nationality, marital status, family name, identification number and photo.