Electronic Passports Raise Privacy Issues

ACM Technews cites an article from the Washington Post regarding a new passport card offered by the federal government to U.S. citizens who travel frequently between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.

The card is equipped with electronic data chips that can be read wirelessly from 20 feet. The goal of the passport card is to reduce the wait at land and sea border checkpoints.

"The government is fundamentally weakening border security and privacy for passport holders in order to get people through the lines faster," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, which submitted comments in opposition to the proposed rule, along with 4,000 others.

See full article at washingtonpost.com.