WHO DO YOU TRUST?

Recently the Obama administration announced plans for an Internet identity system.

Supposedly, the system will be voluntary and maintained by private companies. I am skeptical. In fact, I am more than skeptical.

Consider for a moment the current ‘system’ which is to be superseded by the new system. It is hardly voluntary. Unless you totally avoid the Internet – and you don’t or you wouldn’t be reading this – Google already knows tons about you. And if not Google, then Yahoo or MSN. More than likely, they all know a lot about you. Who of us has not been served up a webpage ad from DoubleClick.net? They know who you are – and much of it wasn’t volunteered. In fact, most people are clueless how much data has been aggregated about them.

So if the major players have individually identified you, what happens when they pool their identity databases? We’ll have another national identity system, that’s what. The current exploding problem of identity theft due to compromised social security numbers will grow to included identity theft based on Internet ID’s.

What is to be gained by another national Internet identity system? Proponents argue that business transactions will be simpler. I say it will increase the influence of the power brokers. Knowledge is power, and such a system will further centralize power due to centralized knowledge. Frankly, I do not sense that business transactions are currently that difficult. I suspect the alleged benefits are merely cover for more government involvement in individual’s private affairs, while turning a blind eye to the single point of failure liability such a system would create.