Remember we were talking a while back about electronic
passports…the ones with the chips in them that would carry your picture and fingerprints…perhaps your shoe size and
drink preference (I see you prefer white over red, sir)? Well, <<enter easy joke about Germans … i.e. You’re
papers are not in order.>> Germany has
begun issuing them to its citizens.
The passports carry “biometric” data, which means in this case a photo which will be scanned when you enter the
country and will come up on a monitor to help determine your ID. Of course, if they are like drivers license photos,
well, they may just be useless. But seriously, this is a big deal in both the counter-terrorism and the personal
liberty realms. Each side of the debate has valid…if perhaps a wee bit paranoid, concerns.
The new passports will certainly help curtail the inflow of unwanteds into the country, but there is a concern that a)
you could have your passport stolen (or hacked) and your ID ripped off as well, b) the government will use the personal
information for all sorts of nefarious uses, perhaps eventually using them to identify you for roundup when the Soylent
Green trucks come, c) corporations will get hold of the info and learn enough about you to completely understand your
preference of breakfast cereals and various addictions. You will then be blackmailed into buying a lifetime supply of
Cocoa Puffs or the public will learn of your fondness for porn.