A new study, “Consumer attitudes about biometrics in ID documents,� by TNS and Trust-e says that “most Americans support adding biometric identifiers to existing government-issued ID documents, including passports (79 percent), Social Security cards (75 percent) and drivers’ licenses (74 percent).� The negatives in attitudes are generally related to privacy issues. People say they don’t necessarily trust the government with their personal data.
I think the privacy issue would fade away if security agents – be that the government or corporations -- quit using a stick (you’ll be an identity theft victim, you’ll lose your data, etc.) to motivate people. The chance that something bad MIGHT happen is just too low to be an effective motivator. Look at all the people who are still smoking. We don’t need a bigger stick; we need a sweeter carrot.
Here’s an example of what might work:
Orlando International Airport is testing a biometric security solution it calls CLEAR that (for $80) will issue a traveler a biometric card allowing him to get through security faster. I read about this in a BoingBoing post where readers mentioned similar experiments that are part of DHS’s Registered Traveler program.
There are plenty of people who would happily exchange their most personal data for speedy check in at the airport. So far, the CLEAR program at Orlando International Airport has enrolled approximately 4,000 travelers since it began accepting applications on June 21, 2005, according the Orlando Airport.
Though I’d be a traitor my anti-big-government principles, I’d sign up. That’s a Carrot with a capital C.
View Comments
There are currently no comments to display.
Post a Comment
To post a comment, you must be a registered user of FCW.com and be logged in. Use one of the forms below to login or register for FREE to FCW.com. To protect your privacy, you can use an alias as your username.
