Washington – President Obama is spearheading a plan to boost web security by issuing American computer users with an Internet ID.
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The President has put the U.S. Commerce Department in charge of the cybersecurity initiative.
The Obama administration is drafting a paper called the National Strategy for Trusted Identities, which investigates ways that web users can protect their online identities.
But Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was quick to reassure people that it wasn’t a guise for more big brother government.
‘We are not talking about a national ID card,’ he said at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
‘We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorise a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities,’ he added.
He said the Commerce Department is setting up a national programme to work on the project.
Possible methods of creating a ‘trusted identity’ could include issuing a ‘smart card’ or digital certificates that would prove that online users are who they say they are. They could then be used to buy goods and carry out financial transactions on the Internet.
White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said the move does not mean that anonymity will be compromised.
‘I don’t have to get a credential if I don’t want to,’ he said.
There’s no chance that ‘a centralised database will emerge,’ and ‘we need the private sector to lead the implementation of this,’ he added, according to CNET website.
The decision to put the Commerce Secretary in charge of the issue has reportedly left noses out of joint at the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
But it is likely to please privacy and civil liberties groups that have raised concerns over the dual roles of police and intelligence agencies.
One day in the near future right after a baby gets born a chip will be implanted and will follow every movement and every transaction we would be doing this govt. is slowly trying to take over our lives.
I love how the Obama admin always proposes legislation that assaults something and then claim the legislation is there to protect that something. Like claiming healthcare law was to insure more competition. Uhu, riggghhhttt.
Now he wants to monitor our web usage, claiming it will increase privacy!! Does he think we are that stupid?
More overreaching into our PRIVACY by our socialist liberal democrat president. The end of his administration will be a blessing to us all!!
I don’t understand why people can’t be responsible to remember all their passwords? We don’t need stupid laws for stupid people. If you have a hard time remembering all your different passwords then write it down and make sure to keep that paper in a safe place. I don’t like big govt. Goodbye freedom.
There is too much internet INSECURITY!! We need a National id card now!!
this is about stopping opposition to the leftest turn in our government they can now track those who oppose them
How funny! The article states specifically that this is a private sector initiative. Why be afraid of the private sector? All the big web companies are already tracking everywhere you go on the internet. Google knows when you go to inappropriate sites. This is nothing new. Amazon tracks what products you look at and makes recommendations. Verisign assigns security certificates and tracks that usage. Those who are concerned about “tracking” are clearly too out-of-touch to realize that everything is already being tracked, and thanks to the Republican “patriot act”, the government has access to *ALL* of that information any time it wants it.
The point of this “ID” is that it is another layer of security (similar to Verified By Visa). The problem today is that credit card companies that offer such security are all using different technologies and different methods. Obama is encouraging a “standard” in order to make the security net tighter. What’s the problem with that? Nothing…. unless you just hate Obama.
It might interest American readers that the United Kingdom coalition government has recently CANCELLED the national identity card system introduced by the previous Labour government. The principal reason for this was the invasion of citizens’ privacy.
Personally, I regret this move. I found it much more convenient to use a credit card sized ID card when entering and leaving other European countries than carrying my passport.
This is a dumb idea.
Somewhere out there the socialist left wing daily kook clowns like CharlieHall & PMSinFL are typing their response about how Bush did this & that. One has to wonder when these leftist crybabies will realize that Bush beat their prodigy children in 2000 & again in ’04. One also has to wonder when they will understand that the major disaster we have is thanks to Barack Hussein Obama who has been President since 08 AND the Socialist Liberal Democrat Worker Party which ran Congress from 06 till now?
I guess denial isn’t only in Egypt!
Rather than a indignant knee jerk response, I will say this. There are times I’ve encountered persons online who are unlawful and it would be great if they were accountable. That said, I think this is probably a very bad idea. The internet is freedom and clearly there has not been a great amount of internet crime that is reported in our daily news. Not only that, but who is to say that once you get a national data base, there wont be fake users and people with other peoples identities. Imagine me doing somthing with your internet identity that is traced to you. Sounds like a conspiracy. I do not think that this measure is liberalism. Clearly not. It does sound like authoratative restrictions on commerce and free expression. Whats next. Will we require anyone who paints a picture to stamp it with a government identity? Will we require everyone who visits a grocery store to stamp their identity at the doorway too? Certainly those who wear burkas wont be identified by security cameras. This may work if implemented intelligently and maybe it might reduce some crime and ensure responsibility. But that said, I never felt this was one of my security concerns.
If you get past the tinfoil hat reaction “Oy vey! Obama is going to put chips in us,” nonsense there’s actually a good idea here.
What the Administration is talking about are secure, individual cryptographic certificates. These allow you to verify who you are without having to hand over things like driver’s license and credit card information.
Electronic signatures have been legal signatures for years. The problem has been setting a secure, uniform standard and a definition of what constitutes an electronic signature. This legislation would do just that and provides a reasonable framework.
Bush, national ID card, Patriot Act: bad
Obama, national Internet ID, demonizing the Right: good