A VITAL tool in the fight against terrorism or a one-stop-shop for identity thieves? The “Real ID” bill that President Bush has only to sign will turn state-issued US driver’s licences into national ID cards. But it passed the Senate on 10 May without a word of debate.
Real ID, which was slipped into an emergency appropriations bill, stipulates that by 2008 all driver’s licences or equivalent ID must include a machine-readable name, a digitised photograph, address, social security number, a digitised birth certificate and signature. If you don’t have an ID card you won’t be allowed on planes, trains…
