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This article is pretty light on details. Here's a quote from the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt: Schmidt stressed today that anonymity a

This article is pretty light on details. Here's a quote from the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt: Schmidt stressed today that anonymity and pseudonymity will remain possible on the Internet. "I don't have to get a credential, if I don't want to," he said. There's no chance that "a centralized database will emerge," and "we need the private sector to lead the implementation of this," he said. Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20027800-281.html#ixzz1AZDYQ3Kk http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20027800-281.html#ixzz1AZD...

sliverstorm 16y ago
I don't have to get (one) Cool. They've got the OK from me. It could turn out to be neat, and so long as it's optional I'm not worried.
- reader5000 16y ago
  It'll be optional in the way driver's licenses are. If you want access to any internet service with value (e.g. google, etc.) you will need one. I can see it going that way.
  - jschuur 16y ago
    And what do you base this claim on?
- CWuestefeld 16y ago
  so long as it's optional I'm not worried. I've got a bridge to sell you, too. Social Security Numbers, we were promised, would not be used as personal identifiers. See, e.g., http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02EFD71039F935A15754C0A96E958260 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02EFD71039F... FOR many years, Social Security cards carried an admonition that they were to be used "for Social Security and tax purposes -- not for identification." You've got my personal guarantee that if an optional Internet ID is created today, it will be required before long. This is how the system works. Witness the gradual ratcheting up of (ridiculous) security measures in airports if you're skeptical.
  - RickRoll 16y ago
    That's pretty obvious. Just in a few month government and every established corp will require those for it's online services. Online banking, paypal&co, all app stores, gaming, taxes, healtcare, insurance ...
    - CWuestefeld 16y ago
      Prediction: it'll start with the gov't allowing safe harbor for sites that use these IDs, when questions regarding copyright, pr0n, etc., come up. If your users post copyrighted material, e.g., then you'll be offered safe harbor only if you enforce registration via the national ID. Same deal for people posting "naughty" content -- which is more insidious than it sounds, because of the overlap between (a) sexual content and privacy concerns in discussions about, e.g., STDs; or (b) in the wake of wikileaks, being hassled about publication of, or support for those publishing, "leaked" data be it from government or from industry. It's necessary that we provide a way for people to maintain anonymity, but the government wants to offer enough carrots to divert our horse from that path.
- rdtsc 16y ago
  Are you being sarcastic or serious?
  - sliverstorm 16y ago
    Both, actually.
- motters 16y ago
  The thing about schemes like this is that they remain optional until such time as the majority of the population have them, after which it becomes easy to convert the system to a mandatory one since minority groups can easily be sidelined. Or alternatively they become so popular that it becomes difficult to function as a modern citizen without one (I hope this doesn't apply with Facebook accounts in the next few years).
  - BlazingFrog 16y ago
    Spot on. When I relocated to the US from Europe, it was impossible for me to open a bank account, rent an apartment or get a cell phone without an SSN. When I explained that to people at the SS administration, they told me that an SSN can never be a requirement to obtain any kind of service. In reality, it's simply not true.
    - ghshephard 16y ago
      Under no circumstances, outside of tax purposes (employment, banking, etc...) can you legally be required to provide an SSN in the united states. Any time I've been "required", I've put up a fuss, and eventually been granted equivalent avenues to provide assurance of payment or reference checks. In most cases this involves a three to four month deposit on the service. Annoying, but given that the organization is entering a commercial relationship with me without knowledge of my credit worthiness, bearable. I detest these centralized government tracking systems on my activity, and hope that this next attempt on a national ID is quickly defeated.
redial 16y ago
What about facebook? they are as close as it gets to a centralized database. It's opt-in and tons of sites already support the 'facebook id'.
- shotgun 16y ago
  Didn't the lesser known founder of Facebook take leave and get in bed with the Obama White House?
  - pyre 16y ago
    They're getting Google in on this too. I can't imagine that Google will give no push-back against the idea that FacebookConnect becomes a national Internet ID.
    - shotgun 16y ago
      Good point. Maybe free market forces will help after all... Edit: Google probably stands the gain more from this initiative than Facebook if it can cleverly integrate it with Google Me.
motters 16y ago
They said something similar to this about the proposed UK national ID system, then shortly afterwards unveiled plans for an incredibly centralised system with a slow transition leading from voluntary to mandatory. Fortunately these plans were recently scrapped. I think the big picture here is that various governments for a variety of reasons foresee difficult times ahead and are trying, falteringly and often swimming against public opinion, to move towards a state of affairs where they have a greater degree of authoritarian control than was the case in the past - perhaps similar to China, which may become the new model state/economy which others seek to emulate.
sportsTAKES 16y ago
If anonymity will remain what is the point? And saying there is no chance a centralized database will emerge is impossible to predict. And what purpose does the ID serve if it's not able to be referenced via some sort of data base. The White House's comments are nonsensical.

sliverstorm 16y ago

I don't have to get (one) Cool. They've got the OK from me. It could turn out to be neat, and so long as it's optional I'm not worried.

reader5000 16y ago
It'll be optional in the way driver's licenses are. If you want access to any internet service with value (e.g. google, etc.) you will need one. I can see it going that way.
- jschuur 16y ago
  And what do you base this claim on?
CWuestefeld 16y ago
so long as it's optional I'm not worried. I've got a bridge to sell you, too. Social Security Numbers, we were promised, would not be used as personal identifiers. See, e.g., http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02EFD71039F935A15754C0A96E958260 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02EFD71039F... FOR many years, Social Security cards carried an admonition that they were to be used "for Social Security and tax purposes -- not for identification." You've got my personal guarantee that if an optional Internet ID is created today, it will be required before long. This is how the system works. Witness the gradual ratcheting up of (ridiculous) security measures in airports if you're skeptical.
- RickRoll 16y ago
  That's pretty obvious. Just in a few month government and every established corp will require those for it's online services. Online banking, paypal&co, all app stores, gaming, taxes, healtcare, insurance ...
  - CWuestefeld 16y ago
    Prediction: it'll start with the gov't allowing safe harbor for sites that use these IDs, when questions regarding copyright, pr0n, etc., come up. If your users post copyrighted material, e.g., then you'll be offered safe harbor only if you enforce registration via the national ID. Same deal for people posting "naughty" content -- which is more insidious than it sounds, because of the overlap between (a) sexual content and privacy concerns in discussions about, e.g., STDs; or (b) in the wake of wikileaks, being hassled about publication of, or support for those publishing, "leaked" data be it from government or from industry. It's necessary that we provide a way for people to maintain anonymity, but the government wants to offer enough carrots to divert our horse from that path.
rdtsc 16y ago
Are you being sarcastic or serious?
- sliverstorm 16y ago
  Both, actually.
motters 16y ago
The thing about schemes like this is that they remain optional until such time as the majority of the population have them, after which it becomes easy to convert the system to a mandatory one since minority groups can easily be sidelined. Or alternatively they become so popular that it becomes difficult to function as a modern citizen without one (I hope this doesn't apply with Facebook accounts in the next few years).
- BlazingFrog 16y ago
  Spot on. When I relocated to the US from Europe, it was impossible for me to open a bank account, rent an apartment or get a cell phone without an SSN. When I explained that to people at the SS administration, they told me that an SSN can never be a requirement to obtain any kind of service. In reality, it's simply not true.
  - ghshephard 16y ago
    Under no circumstances, outside of tax purposes (employment, banking, etc...) can you legally be required to provide an SSN in the united states. Any time I've been "required", I've put up a fuss, and eventually been granted equivalent avenues to provide assurance of payment or reference checks. In most cases this involves a three to four month deposit on the service. Annoying, but given that the organization is entering a commercial relationship with me without knowledge of my credit worthiness, bearable. I detest these centralized government tracking systems on my activity, and hope that this next attempt on a national ID is quickly defeated.

redial 16y ago

What about facebook? they are as close as it gets to a centralized database. It's opt-in and tons of sites already support the 'facebook id'.

shotgun 16y ago
Didn't the lesser known founder of Facebook take leave and get in bed with the Obama White House?
- pyre 16y ago
  They're getting Google in on this too. I can't imagine that Google will give no push-back against the idea that FacebookConnect becomes a national Internet ID.
  - shotgun 16y ago
    Good point. Maybe free market forces will help after all... Edit: Google probably stands the gain more from this initiative than Facebook if it can cleverly integrate it with Google Me.

motters 16y ago

They said something similar to this about the proposed UK national ID system, then shortly afterwards unveiled plans for an incredibly centralised system with a slow transition leading from voluntary to mandatory. Fortunately these plans were recently scrapped. I think the big picture here is that various governments for a variety of reasons foresee difficult times ahead and are trying, falteringly and often swimming against public opinion, to move towards a state of affairs where they have a greater degree of authoritarian control than was the case in the past - perhaps similar to China, which may become the new model state/economy which others seek to emulate.

sportsTAKES 16y ago

If anonymity will remain what is the point? And saying there is no chance a centralized database will emerge is impossible to predict. And what purpose does the ID serve if it's not able to be referenced via some sort of data base. The White House's comments are nonsensical.