Privacy Oriented

By Charlie Sorrel October 20, 2008 | 8:07:41 AM

From a Wire article.

Britons who want to buy a pre-pay cellphone will no longer be able to remain anonymous if the British Government gets its way. The government want its subjects to produce a passport or other official ID when buying any kind of mobile phone, including non-contract phones.

According to the Sunday Times, the UK government is planning a national database of cellphone ownership, which is – of course – to allow them to spy on their employers, the citizens of Britain. Obviously such a database would be pointless without some way to record ownership of pre-pay mobiles — these are the traditional “burners” used by the criminal and (perhaps rightfully) the paranoid. What’s that you say? The real criminals know how to buy fake passports, so the only people affected will be the innocent? We tend to agree.

Even more shocking is the fact that GCHQ, which is aptly described by the Sunday Times as “the government’s eavesdropping centre” has already been given £1 billion ($1.7 billion) to get started on the island-wide surveillance scheme, and it has already installed “thousands of ‘black boxes’” which intercept calls and other communications.

At least when the US government spies on its citizens it has the decency to pretend it isn’t and – if caught – blame it on someone else.

Source: Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones [Sunday Times via BoingBoing]

Last Updated: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 | 9:16 AM ET

CBC News

Canada’s privacy watchdogs are warning governments to think twice before sharing information about Canadians with U.S. border guards.

The country’s privacy commissioners are meeting in Victoria this week, where they are discussing how pilot projects in Ontario and British Columbia could set a dangerous precedent when it comes to accessing information.

The B.C. government says new high-tech driver’s licences that can be used in place of passports at U.S. border crossings won’t contain private information about drivers.

However, Canada’s privacy commissioners have voiced fears about handing over personal data to U.S. border guards.

They were worried about American officers being able to view people’s driving and accident records, including any fines or penalties.

Concerns about privacy centre on a pilot project, which the B.C. government announced last month in a bid to comply with tougher U.S. border crossing rules.

In B.C., 500 people will receive enhanced driver’s licenses. They’ll be embedded with a chip encoded with information that’s normally included on a driver’s licence, plus a digital photo and a birth certificate number.

B.C. Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis says Canadians need to take careful consideration before taking any approach that will transfer the personal information of Canadian citizens to the U.S. or any other government.

He said that’s because the information swiped from the cards will be permanently held by the United States and Canadian privacy laws will no longer apply.

Loukidelis said that means Canadians can be easily monitored by U.S. authorities, and there are no citizens watchdogs in the United States.

The B.C. government has agreed to make sure that those volunteering for the enhanced driver’s licences are aware of that fact, Loukidelis said.

But so far, neither the federal nor provincial governments have promised to insist that independent U.S. information watchdogs be created.

Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist

Published: Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Canada’s privacy watchdog voiced “significant concerns” yesterday that enhanced driver’s licences (sic) like those being issued in B.C. lay the groundwork for a national identity card.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, in Victoria this week with her provincial counterparts for a privacy and security conference, said the enhanced licences, which are being issued as a cheaper, more convenient alternative to a Canadian passport, closely resemble the Read ID program in the United States. Stoddart characterized that program as a way of introducing an American identity card.

“This may be an attempt to encourage us to harmonize with them,” she said.

Privacy commissioners across the country oppose national identity cards as intrusive and unnecessary. “We think it’s a route that Canadians don’t need to follow,” she said.

B.C. began offering the licences to a select group of 500 residents last month to ease land and sea border crossings into the U.S. A passport is still required for crossings by air.

The enhanced licences will contain a radio frequency identification chip with a “unique identifier” that can be read from 10 metres away. It’s that identifier that worries commissioners, since it could form the basis for a national identity card and allow people’s movements to be tracked.

John van Dongen, B.C. minister of state for intergovernmental relations, rejected that concern yesterday, saying the sole purpose of the licences is to speed up border crossings.

Under the program, border guards will be able to read the “identifier” on the licence as a driver approaches, giving them access to a database containing the driver’s picture, age, address and other personal information.

The information will be much the same as on a regular driver’s licence, and will not include a person’s driving or criminal records.

Privacy watchdogs, however, worry that the database of information, at least during the startup phase, will likely be in U.S. hands, where it could be lost, subject to “inappropriate browsing” or used for unintended purposes.

Van Dongen said the government has worked closely with B.C. privacy commissioner David Loukidelis to ensure that personal information is safeguarded. He also said the program is strictly voluntary and will remain so.

But Canada’s privacy commissioners issued a unanimous statement yesterday that no program should proceed on a permanent basis unless the database containing drivers’ information remains in Canada.

Loukidelis noted that Canada doesn’t transfer its passport database into foreign hands. “And we don’t see why there would be any need to do anything differently when it comes to enhanced driver’s licences,” he said.

A new pilot program will involve 500 volunteers who agree to share personal information with Canadian and U.S. authorities, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said.

The licenses are a response to U.S. security measures that require valid passports for land and water crossings. Beginning next month, Canadians will have to present proof of citizenship when entering.

Passports provide that but traditional driver’s licenses—which have been the key requirement for entry—do not.

The enhanced licenses will look similar to current ones but will be embedded with a radio frequency identification chip that can be scanned at border crossings.

“The new enhanced driver’s license will confirm both the holder’s identity and Canadian citizenship, and can be used at land and water border crossings in place of a passport,” Campbell said.

The license can only be used at land and sea crossings and passports will still be required to fly into the United States.

Campbell said that once an assessment is done on the pilot project, the new licenses could be rolled out to British Columbians as early as 2009.

Officials hope the licenses can help speed the crossing into the U.S., which has slowed because of stepped up security since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

“There were many adversaries and critics who said you’ll never be able to convince the U.S. that there could be acceptable alternatives” to passports, said federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. “But we do have alternatives now.”

Once in use, Day said drivers approaching a border booth will simply hold the license up to a scanner.

“I think you’ll be seeing very quickly other provinces” joining in, Day said, indicating that Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba had shown interest.