Passports Going High Tech, Will Licenses Follow?

The U.S. State Department issued a final rule in October that creates the requirement that new U.S. passports contain a radio frequency computer chip to affirm identity of the document holder. The chip will transmit personal information and a digital photo of the passport holder to be used for biometric comparisons.

The chip will store information such as name, nationality, sex, date of birth, place of birth and the photograph, and it will have enough data storage space to add additional biometric information in the future. The chip will be read when a person enters and leaves the country, speeding up the process of validation. Opponents of the new passports cite fears that identity thieves will be able to read the passports when they are open. The government and technology experts disagree on whether that's possible.

Meanwhile, another issue up for debate is how states will handle a new requirement written into a law passed in May that they come up with more secure ways to handle drivers' licenses. The Department of Homeland Security is now discussing with state officials how to handle the Real ID Act, which requires federal standards for state IDs. The act was passed in hopes of combating terrorism, reforming immigration procedures, and linking state databases together.

One of the methods being considered is the same type of radio frequency technology to be used in passports, and opponents are fighting it for the same reasons: fear of privacy, the possibility of data theft, and the added expense for cardholders. The other methods under consideration for drivers' licenses would be magnetic stripes or two dimensional bar codes. Presently, 49 states use one or the other of those two methods.

Copyright © 2005 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 15, No. 12, 12/05