WTF is Real ID

You may know that Real ID is now “required” to fly in the United States. There’s a lot of misconceptions about what Real ID is, many are saying that its a digital ID. What is REAL ID for real? I read into the Real ID act and the 9/11 commission report to figure out what’s going on.

TL;DR - Real ID doesn’t mean there’s a chip in your ID - REAL ID is a set of standards for issuing state IDs that require you to enroll in biometrics (facial capture and biometrics). Most people in the US can opt out of REAL ID - they can use a passport to identify themselves when the fly. Only those in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Wyoming will be required to ‘renew’ with a REAL ID.

The REAL ID didn’t manifest out of thin air. The original REAL ID act passed in 2005, its a short 6 page document (government website) outlining a set of standards for unifying how driver’s licenses are issued. These include things like new safeguards for counterfeiting, or duplication of IDs.

Its part of a larger framework and set changes that come from the 9/11 Commission Report.

We can thank this report for the most frustrating security theatre of our day. This includes being groped at the airport by TSA, not being allowed to take on more than 4 oz of toothpaste, and being pushed to enroll in biometrics for ‘convienience’.

The report affirms that the 9/11 terrorists used ‘passport farms’ to recycle travel documents, and identification cards, and get access to secured areas.

After spending billions of dollars in security infrastructure and creating organizations like the TSA - no terrorist has ever been caught to this very day. 🤔

And now people in 5 states are being forced to accept being enrolled in biometrics like facial recognition, fingerprints, and iris scans: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Wyoming.

Its interesting that these southern and typically ‘free-er’ states are the ones rolling this out on their civilians. Are we fighting the war on two fronts, against terror, against illegal immigration? Or is this a convienient scapegoat on the war against freedom?

What’s next in the 9/11 commission report? Travel being the sole focus, the report hints at a biometric screening system.

Any checkpoint in which people travel through needs to have a shared framework for identity. This framework would require people to provide biometric information, such as facial features, fingerprints, and iris scans.

Currently only 56% of people in the US are using REAL ID, although I doubt the number is that high, it wouldn’t be the first time a government body exaggerates its statistics.

If this number gets raised, then you would have the groundwork for more regular travel controls.

Although there’s not an actual chip in your ID (unless your ID is ‘enhanced’) - the REAL ID is a foundation for a digital ID, as it combines machine readable information on your ID with a historical database of your uniquely identifying informatoin.

Solutions

Reject REAL ID. US travelers can use passports, and they can also use a normal ID for a period of about 2 years (subject to extra screening 🤢)

Citizens Council for Health Freedom published an excellent page with info on how to reject REAL ID.

Did you know?

Most passports are embedded with an NFC chip. After some experimentation I was able to read my passport’s chip data, its the same information on the bottom of your passport picture page. Our passports are scanned on entry/exit - and a historical log is kept. This is how customs know your history of travel if you’ve ever been questioned at the airport.

In combination with other data, digital ID is already here - but the systems are fragmented … for now. REAL ID brings us one step closer to unified identification system.

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