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From the analysis linked in TFA: "The automated query can be based on: * Identity information included in the application or in travel documents, such as name,
by dinkelberg 4mo ago
From the analysis linked in TFA:
"The automated query can be based on:
* Identity information included in the application or in travel documents, such as name, date of
birth, national ID number, and/or
* the fingerprint of an individual."
Sounds like they could send requests to that computer system just based on publicly available information on a person like name and date of birth, even if the person never applied for a visa or tried to enter the US.
- eigenspace 4mo agoWell, a national ID number isnt usually publicly available info, even if it can be obtained by the US government through illicit means. But yeah, it does sound that way, but certainly not clear cut to me what the situation is. I.e. does the agreement involve clauses about what to do if this is abused? Do we have a way to detect if theyre using this on non-travellers? Etc.
- dinkelberg 4mo agoThis is the leaked draft: https://statewatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/wk_5183_2026pdf.pdf https://statewatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/wk_5183_20... It's not clear how it is supposed to work in detail. But it sounds like it could be implemented in a way that makes illegitimate queries possible. It doesn't sound like they want to really ensure that you can catch those.
- meibo 4mo agoIn multiple European countries, national ID numbers are public information that can be searched by name and address (i.e. Sweden)
- iknowstuff 4mo agoI played with Estonia’s e-residency and they use asymmetric cryptography for everything so the ID is public but does nothing without the corresponding private key.
- T-A 4mo ago> a national ID number isnt usually publicly available info A couple of counterexamples: Italy's "fiscal code" is generated with a simple algorithm which can be executed manually: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_fiscal_code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_fiscal_code Sweden's "personal identity number" is public information and can be looked up by anyone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identity_number_(Sweden) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identity_number_(Swed...
- sam_lowry_ 4mo agoBelgian National Number is your birth date, then an increment from 1 to 999 for every baby born that day, then a base-97 checksum.
- andruby 4mo agoNot sure if still the case: odd numbers for males and even numbers for females. This also means a person’s Belgian RRN can change.
- sam_lowry_ 4mo agoYep, but they do not change on sex change, IIRC.
- andruby 4mo agoI wrote a system for a medical lab decades ago and IIRC I did actually have to change some RRN's manually. It's been a while so I'm not 100% sure, but I do think the changes were due to switching gender.
- port11 4mo agoAre there never more than 1k babies born in a day?
- treszkai 4mo ago
- MarceliusK 4mo agoIt changes the nature of the scheme quite a bit
- Danox 4mo agoOnly the people who travel to the US should be included in this farce and vice versa the other way…
- throwawayffffas 4mo agoThey probably could, but if done on a large scale, they are likely to be detected.
- coldtea 4mo agoThat would matter if officials on the other side cared and weren't oking it.