To the editors:
William Savage writes in his article on REAL ID (With REAL ID still unreal in Oklahoma, deadlines loom) that opposition to compliance with the national ID law is based upon “nebulous fears of databasing and biometric information collection, neither of which the act explicitly requires.”
Mr. Savage is correct that there is not an explicit requirement for collecting biometrics in the REAL ID Act itself. The act requires only “mandatory facial image capture” of applicants for drivers’ licenses and IDs. But the Department of Homeland Security’s implementing regulations require states to collect facial images consistent with a technical standard called “ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005(E) Information technology–Biometric Data Interchange Formats–Part 5: Face Image Data.”
Mr. Savage is mistaken about the REAL ID Act’s explicitness with respect to keeping and sharing databases of driver information. Section 202(d)(12) of the act requires each state to “[p]rovide electronic access to all other States to information contained in the motor vehicle database of the State.” The next subsection specifies the minimum requirements for such databases: “(A) all data fields printed on drivers’ licenses and identification cards issued by the State; and (B) motor vehicle drivers’ histories, including motor vehicle violations, suspensions, and points on licenses.”
The DHS has effectively written the data-sharing requirements out of the law while it presses states like Oklahoma toward compliance, using threats such as refusal of Oklahoma licenses at military bases. Once states have committed to complying, it is likely that the DHS will enforce the nationwide data-sharing mandate using the same threats, despite the significant identity fraud and data-security risks created by sharing Oklahomans’ personal information so broadly.
Jim Harper
Senior Fellow
The Cato Institute
Washington, D.C.
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