Privacy Principles for Identity in the Digital Age

CDT has been working to develop consensus-based, technology-neutral principles to guide policymakers and companies as they develop and implement identity and authentication services for governmental and commercial purposes.

• Privacy Principles for Identity in the Digital Age v1.4
• Alissa Cooper, Privacy Principles for Identification, March 27, 2007
• Authentication Privacy Principles,May 13, 2003
• RFID Privacy Principles, May 1, 2006

REAL ID

The REAL ID Act requires the federal government to set standards for state driver's licenses. Draft regulations issued to implement the law lack privacy and security protections. CDT has concluded that the REAL ID Act is fundamentally flawed and needs to be repealed or substantially rewritten.

• Three Years Later: A Primer on REAL ID [Policy Post], Aug. 28, 2008
• CDT comments to AAMVA on central database, Sept. 22, 2008
• Machine-Readable Zone letter to Senate Judiciary Committee, April 8, 2008
• Analysis of DHS final regulations and recommendations for Congress, Feb. 1, 2008
• REAL ID op-ed, "Why Real ID is a flawed law," CNET News.com, Jan. 31, 2008
• CDT Comments on REAL ID regulations [pdf] May 8, 2007
• Privacy Coalition REAL ID Action
• Statement of Jim Dempsey [pdf], May 1, 2007, DHS Town Meeting on REAL ID, Davis, CA
• REAL ID One-Pager, [pdf] March 2007
• Testimony of Sophia Cope on REAL ID [PDF], March 21, 2007, Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee
• CDT Statement for the Record on REAL ID [PDF], by Sophia Cope, March 26, 2007, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
• Ari Schwartz, "Unlicensed Fraud: How Bribery and Lax Security at State Motor Vehicle Offices Nationwide Lead to Identity Theft and Illegal Driver's Licenses" [PDF], Feb. 2004
• CDT Blog entries on REAL ID

Passport Card

The Passport Card is a proposed State Department document for use by US citizens in travel to Canada and Mexico. As proposed, it would use an insecure form of RFID technology.

• Prepared oral statement and written testimony of Sophia Cope on “The Impact of Implementation: A Review of the REAL ID Act and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative," April 29, 2008
• CDT Comparison of Security Features in E-Passport and Passport Card/Enhanced Drivers License
• CDT Request of Secretary of State Rice for Privacy Impact Assessment of the PASS Card [pdf], May 2, 2007
• PASS Card comments, January 8, 2007 [PDF]
• PASS Card comments, January 24, 2007 [PDF]
• CDT Blog entries on PASS Card

Other Identity Resources

• Congressional Research Service, "Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004: National Standards for Drivers' Licenses, Social Security Cards, and Birth Certificates," [pdf] January 6, 2005
• Subcommittee on Aviation, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Hearing on "The Use Of Biometrics To Improve Aviation Security" May 19, 2004
• GAO testimony on the challenges of using biometric ID in aviation security, May 19, 2004
• Court documents and other materials in Gilmore v. US, challenging the authority to demand ID of travelers within the US
• National Academcy of Science report on Nationwide Identification Systems, April 2002
• Progressive Policy Insitute report on turning the driver's license into a National ID card Feb. 7, 2002
• American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) recommendations, Feb. 2002
• EPIC report "Your Papers, Please: From the State Drivers License to a National Identification System" [pdf] Feb 13, 2002
• Letter urging President Bush to resist the standardization of state drivers' licenses as a de facto national ID card system, Feb. 11, 2002