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Biometrics and Drivers' Licenses - Update Dec 28, 2011

There's been much discussion in the US media concerning the use of biometrics on drivers licenses. The fear is that we'll end up with a system where the government can track our every move and every transaction through the use of this new kind of technology. Most Americans view these new techniques with outright horror.

Imagine a new surveillance system that's hooked up to a wide range of different databases. A video camera atop a tall pole detects your car’s movement as you back out of your driveway, which triggers it to zoom in and do a look-up on your license plate.

The plate number is run through the DMV records and your entire DMV record suddenly flashes up on the monitor screen. The computer behind the cameras instantly creates a “trip file” which will contain many details on your journey.

As you leave the camera’s area, the computer prompts another camera to track and record your movements as you pass by. As you drive your trip is carefully recorded in the computer’s records.

When you park your car across the street from a store the camera there watches as you leave your car and stroll across the street. If you stop to chat with a friend, that fact is also recorded along with your friend’s identity.

You then enter the store and make a purchase. Of course the details of your purchase are recorded in your trip file. As you walk back to your car where you walk is carefully recorded and analyzed. Should you do anything but walk directly to your car, the monitoring computer may label your activity as “suspicious” and contact the local police to send a car to check you out.

Sound like some wild science fiction fantasy from the far distant future? Think again. The first such system is up and running in several cities in England. Here in the US we're not quite so comfortable with such a system so we’re going to “go slow” on the use of such invasive technology.

In England the government loves their new system. They claim it’s cut crime in the most heavily monitored areas by more than half. But what they don’t tell you is that all that has really happened is that crime has moved away from the monitored areas. In the unmonitored areas crime has exploded.

Privacy groups and the ACLU have pressured the federal government to restrict such "big brother" systems so hopefully this technology will stay across the pond.

What’s the state of the art in monitoring technologies? By combining several different technologies the police now have several units that can provide a level of intrusion that is truly mind-boggling.

The cop sits in the passenger seat of a standard police car while his partner drives. In his lap is a powerful laptop computer with a large display. As he drives past your house he points a large black gun-like device at the front of your house.

An image pops up on the screen. It’s a razor sharp image of the inside of your house. It can watch you as you move around your house. With this breakthrough technology they can determine if you’re committing illegal acts. They can also watch as you have sex. They can also watch as your daughter undresses and takes a shower!

Not only can they watch you inside your home, they have a system in development that can actually identify you using facial recognition technology (FRT). With this emerging technology they’ll be able to determine how many people are in your home and at the same time identify them by their facial traits!

The trend is clear. If we don’t force our representatives in Washington to come up with an iron-clad privacy bill, it’s only a matter of time before our entire lives are an open book.

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