Biometric Passports or Waste of Bio-matter?
Biometric Passports eh? [Via Metafilter]
The Toronto Star is reporting that:
“The Bush administration wants all Canadians travelling to the United States to carry a passport that will eventually include biometric markers such as iris scans as well as digital photos.”
“U.S. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge will discuss the proposal with Deputy Prime Minister John Manley when they meet next month, U.S. officials say. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 3 in Toronto.”
“The proposal calls for passports issued after next year to be quickly scanned by U.S. border authorities that would read biometric markers to confirm a traveller’s identity, a State Department official said.”
This is a brilliant way to spur on the “jobless recovery“. Couldn’t Bush and company stick to racial profiling and other random stupidity?
It’s safe to say that if this horseshit gets pushed through, yours truly will not be visiting the US again. Ever.
Unfortunately, that also includes Vegas…
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Sorry to hear you won’t be visiting us again. Just thought I’d chime in and offer a differing opinion on the biometric function.
I see the Biometric plan as favorable. They are adding a Lock to the passport. To open the lock you need a key, ie., finger, face, iris. Without the key the passport is useless. Goes a long way to protect the owner from a chance loss or theft of the document.
If you’re worried about ‘tracking’, your already ‘tracked’ by Name and Passport number.
I might think differently if I were a criminal that had stepped accross the border and had intimate dealings with police booking procedures, from either side of the border. I’m not sure but I think there are more bad guys on my side of the border. Besides protecting your passport, A biometric check just might help to protect Canada.
Look at both sides of the arguement for and against biometrics.
Are there any facts to back up the theory that biometrics improve security whatsoever? If we can expect another ‘face recognition’ debacle, count me out. Technology is not a solution to poor policy.
So far as being tracked, that is exactly my problem. The Bush Administration doesn’t have a stellar record in protecting privacy or civil liberties. Case in point — CAPPS II, DARPA TIA, etc.
I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. :)