Sell it ? That's a change. They give it for free.
The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
311–320 of 376 posts
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#312Earlier quoted context omitted.
This all reminds me about how RealID was vital to secure us from terrorism, and it took 20 years to get it in place... with no significant terrorist actions in that timeframe. IMHO this level of tracking ain't worth the safety gained. Seems like safety gain is just the excuse at this point.
And also according to the DHS is apparently now insufficient to prove citizenship to vote, i.e. goal posts moved.
Is your RealID different? I’ve had one for ages and am not a US citizen. I can’t see how it could be proof of citizenship if I, a non-citizen, has one.
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#313Unless it has changed recently Germany has no general database of biometric data. Of course law enforcement has for the cases they work on, but for the average passport holder the data gets destroyed once the passport has been accepted by the citizen. So it remains only decentralized in passport chips.
It's probably an exception in EU.
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#314Unless it has changed recently Germany has no general database of biometric data. Of course law enforcement has for the cases they work on, but for the average passport holder the data gets destroyed once the passport has been accepted by the citizen. So it remains only decentralized in passport chips. It's probably an exception in EU.
It is exactly the same in Sweden: biometrics are stored only until the passport/ID is manufactured, then destroyed. Only copy is on the chip.
At least this is what the law says, and how it is supposed to be. Reality on the ground, though? I am skeptical that the implementation is as perfect as the law requires it to be, especially judging by the quality of the average government IT system...
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#315Earlier quoted context omitted.
The same can be said about Flock, or other surveillance state mechanisms. It's good for security, it's more convenient than police doing police work. Until it's not. Until it's hacked or abused as powerful mechanisms commonly are.
Some amount of surveillance leads to a better society. See SG. Flock is needed for current USA. That's why idiots are up against it.
Please explain why Flock is needed.
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#316Earlier quoted context omitted.
With the major distinction being that a lot of Europeans have absolutely no intention of ever visiting the United States, a country with a history of sometimes more, sometimes less hostility and aggressive intelligence agencies. If you want to visit a hellhole, go through the hassle. But don't hand out all of our data just because you want to do joyrides.
Can't see where "the major distinction" lies. It's also true that a lot of US citizens have absolutely no intention of ever visiting Europe -- as to hostilities, well the last two World Wars didn't exactly start in the US.
Good, so we can agree that the minor hassle for the minority to get a slightly slower immigration line at the airport does not outweigh privacy rights for the majority.
BTW: Where, and when, those wars started is a splendid way for historians to spend an afternoon discussing.
The point is that after 1945, the US never stopped fighting wars all over the world, using euphemisms sometimes, sometimes slogans, but it always was war.
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#317Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure if still the case: odd numbers for males and even numbers for females. This also means a person’s Belgian RRN can change.
Yep, but they do not change on sex change, IIRC.
I 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.
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#318Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're identical but countries pretend they're different. I got an evisa when I went to Indonesia and India. For each country, the process involved uploading a picture, filling in some basic details, and paying a fee. I was approved in 30 seconds for each. I'm pretty sure it was automatic. ESTA is supposed to be a lower hurdle than a visa. But from what I've heard, approvals take longer and quite a few people get re…
You don't need to visit an embassy for ESTA, for a Visa this in-person interview at the embassy is required.
Other countries have visas and don't require embassy visits. There's no difference between as ESTA and how other countries do visas.
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#319Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, if you don’t change your passport you only have to scan your fingerprints once in the EU.
I have just returned from the EU last week and I have been fingerprinted twice — once on entry and once on exit. The US passport holders get fingerprinted on entry only, as I’ve heard.
Is that good or bad? Maybe a naive thought but the first I think is that check every time is to check biometrics matches with what is in the passport without storing them, checking only once mean your picture and fingerprint is stored a central place and is used in combination to later verify that the passport is yours
Re: The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
#320Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes. In fact, you have to do it twice; once to apply and once to receive it. In Poland at least, the queues are often a few weeks long, and you have to book online in advance. If it's summer season and you need to travel soon, you usually have to go to some office in Buttfuckville at the other end of the country to get a reasonable date. Passport office hunting is an established practice for people who need one ASAP.…
The process in the US is you open an online form, type in your details, and upload a JPEG of your face! Then you receive a passport in the mail a few weeks later! I would say that is a lot less painful than the Polish process.
Yes but how do they make sure the person receiving the passport is the right one? That's why we have to do both in person.