> >From: "Alexander 'Sasha' Chislenko" <sasha1@netcom.com>
> Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 22:08:48 -0500
> Subject: IDs and privacy
>
> Every time you want to buy alcohol, enter a dance club, etc.,
> you have to produce an "id" that supposed identifies you and
> certifies that you are eligible for whatever it is you are trying to get.
> But the IDs seem to contain a lot of unnecessary information.
> Why is it necessary for the alcohol merchant to know my exact
> date of birth, or my name, or the fact that I drive a car and don't
> see well without glasses?
> An ID with a picture (of some identifiable body part) and an inscription
> "this person is allowed to buy alcohol" should be sufficient for the cause,
> shouldn't it?
Yes.
> I wonder if anybody issues such "minimal IDs", and whether they can
> be actually used.
Passport photo stores sometimes have such an ID, unfortunately these havebeed abused by youngsters to get into bars with and may not be accepted everywhere. Also check out Internatioal Driver's Licence.
This gave me a product idea- a shield or carrier for your driver's licence, made of thin metal or plastic, that has cutouts for picture, DOB (or just year of birth), official seal. Putting it on a chain (or adding other functions) may be an option for some.
I'm not entirely sure of this, but begininning in 2001 or so all US states will be required (by extortion) to place your Social Security Number on your licence or ID card, producing a defacto national ID card. I don't know where to start in listing the abuses this will produce.
Forrest
-- Forrest Bishop Manager, Interworld Productions, LLC Chairman, Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering http://www.speakeasy.org/~forrestb