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[Phoenix]

US expected to abandon Biometric passport plan
By electricnews.net
Published Monday 13th June 2005 14:23 GMT

Rules requiring Irish citizens to carry high-tech passports when visiting the US are to be dropped because the technology behind the scheme is seen as unreliable. The US Department of Homeland Security had previously set an October 2005 deadline for the inclusion of biometric information chips in the passports of European citizens who avail themselves of the Visa Waiver programme. This programme allows people to make short-term visits to the US without a visa. The chips would have included a variety of biological information about the passport holder, such as their fingerprints and retina scans.

But according to a report in the Sunday Times, Ireland has shelved plans to include biometric chips in passports amid expectations that the US is to abandon its biometric passport requirements.
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"Biometrics are just a tool, the real concern is that the information would be used for more than immigration control," said Aisling Reidy, director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, speaking to ElectricNews.net. "There is also a significant risk of false positives, that people could be wrongly identified, because the technology is not reliable."

The Sunday Times, meanwhile, quoted a spokesperson from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, who said that the US has now recognised the technical challenges involved in implementing biometric information.

Trials carried out in the UK last year, for the purposes of introducing a biometrics-based UK national identity card, showed significant levels of failure in the registration and verification of iris, fingerprint and facial recognition trials involving 10,000 British citizens.

Under a new arrangement, holders of passports that include digital photographs could continue to avail of the visa waiver programme. The latest Irish passports include a secure digital photograph, but do not include biometrical information.

The new arrangement is understood to have been devised following discussions between the US and the European Commission. European officials believe the Americans have taken on board concerns that the move would reduce the number of people traveling to the US for business and leisure purposes.

Biometric passports have been under consideration since 2002, when US legislators passed a law requiring the 27 countries in the Visa Waiver programme to start issuing high-tech passports by October 2004. The deadline was subsequently extended to October 2005.

Source

 

[heavenly]

So, no, Armaggeddon? Ah...c'mon USA, don't let me down now.

 

[King Jippo]

FUCK YEAH!!

 

[heavenly]

Seriously, would this have any effect on the National ID cards (I mean, new Driver's License) that are to be standardized by 2008, I think. In that bill that was passed, the Homeland Security has complete jurisdiction on the technology that is to be used in the ID cards to make them machine readable, right?

I always thought the biometric passport plan that was to be tested this year on select foreigners' passports was like a testing measure to see if it would be suitable to used it on the Driver's License. Is the abandoment permanent, or just temporary until the technology becomes more reliable? Would this push for the Driver's License standardization back further than 2008?

 

[Phoenix]

Unknown what impacts this will have on domestic ID systems. In order for the passport system to work, many countries have to cooperate in order for the system to be effective. The same isn't true of the National ID system, so long as the states don't mind losing that right (and states losing rights is 'in the air') the national ID system could still roll out as planned.

 

[heavenly]

Unknown what impacts this will have on domestic ID systems. In order for the passport system to work, many countries have to cooperate in order for the system to be effective. The same isn't true of the National ID system, so long as the states don't mind losing that right (and states losing rights is 'in the air') the national ID system could still roll out as planned.

Well, the bill that passed pretty much guarantees that the states will lose their rights, if I'm not mistaken. Homeland Security, to my understanding, has COMPLETE jurisdiction over the implementation of these ID's. And they have the right to use whatever "machine readable technology" as they see fit (which scares me alot). Because, if they're saying biometric scan tech is unreliable, what is the next reliable, sophisticated machine-readable technology? It's almost as if they want the biometric scan to be unreliable so they can justify the usage of other intrusive means. Or maybe I'm just looking too much into this.

 

[Phoenix]

Well, the bill that passed pretty much guarantees that the states will lose their rights, if I'm not mistaken. Homeland Security, to my understanding, has COMPLETE jurisdiction over the implementation of these ID's. And they have the right to use whatever "machine readable technology" as they see fit (which scares me alot). Because, if they're saying biometric scan tech is unreliable, what is the next reliable, sophisticated machine-readable technology? It's almost as if they want the biometric scan to be unreliable so they can justify the usage of other intrusive means. Or maybe I'm just looking too much into this.

Nah - just because a bill passes doesn't guarantee anything. If the states choose to not fight the bill - THAT is the guarantee. In terms of their intent, I'm sure their intent is just. There are people who work in these organizations just like you and I. The problem is that there is the potential to abuse this technology. That and that it was never necessary to have this to begin with.

 

[LakeEarth]

Damn. All that time cutting off people's fingers wasted