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Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

theregister.com

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Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#121

Post by whoooboyy »

thrance wrote: post #100
whoooboyy wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, I've believed we've had an authoritarian in power for quite a while now. Obama, Trump, Biden, and Bush have all tried and succeeded in expanding executive power. They've all engaged in extrajudicial killings overseas. Nothing sets me off like seeing people think this behavior from Trump doesn't have shared roots across both parties. Biden kept kids in cages. Obama bombed weddings. Yes, the current admin is acce…

[flagged]

Did you read my post, where I clearly said the GOP is worse?

Better is not the same as good. The Dems are better. They are still bad. Stop pretending "not the worst" is an acceptable bar.

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#122

Post by yannyu »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #104
yannyu wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a particularly incendiary way of putting this information out there. What is collected and stored is a small blood-spot sample from a heel prick on a newborn. This is used to test for various kinds of conditions that affect newborns. This isn't a full DNA genome sequence or even any data at all, just the blood-spot specimen. Law enforcement does not have automatic access to this sample, but individual samples…

The blood sample isn’t a DNA sample right up until the point they decide to sequence it. This is the same legal doctrine allowing the government to systematically collect all of your personal data without violating your privacy as long they don’t look at what they collect without a warrant. The government has granted themselves an option on your personal data that can’t be revoked.

I agree with you in principle. And I agree that the government has been steadily eroding our privacy. And I agree that California probably shouldn't be retaining these samples forever.

However, the likelihood of being able to "sequence" the biomatter on a blood spot is quite low, and the probability of getting good signal out of it continues to go down over time. It'll still remain useful for various kinds of spot testing and genetic disease testing, but it's not going to produce a fully validated genomic sequence or even be that useful for forensic purposes.

This isn't some sort of sealed blood vial, it's literally just blood on paper.

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#123

Post by mmooss »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #87
lesona wrote: post #39

You can submit a public comment on the proposal to DHS at the link below: https://www.regulations.gov/document/USCIS-2025-0205-0002/co...

I suspect this government isn’t receptive to commentary from anyone other than only one person. While I’d never discourage anyone from advocating their beliefs this feels like at best a waste of energy. They are going to do it because they decided to do it - the solicitation of comments is performative and required. The only way to stop it is via the courts and by voting next November.

You are 'this government's best friend, advocating for their opponents to give up and quit. In a remarkable pattern that I never thought I'd see in the rugged individualistic, idealistic, freedom-loving USA, a large group is literally self-defeating: They defeat themselves before even getting out of bed.

That's why your opponents are unstoppable - because you don't stop them. The performative nonsense is their aggression display.

They still want to win the election. Political and policy outcomes aren't all or nothing; the more they see, the more it will nudge them in whatever direction you want. Others will see it and it will nudge them too. If one person didn't embrace being a quitter, others would do the same.

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#124

Post by miki123211 »

rzerowan wrote: post #67

One thing that i would prefer in biometrics would be that the iris/fingerprints get treated as what they are publicly available and easily obtainable data. At worst using it a a secret key is similar to using your name as a hidden variable for authorisation, whent it sshould strictly be a identification token.And once leaked you cant revoke it . Back on topic , a Gattaca type system is unbelievably bleak and when(not…

Biometrics can be a secure secret key, as long as there's a trusted guard manning the reader, ensuring that you're showing your real fingerprint / face and not a fake.

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#125

Post by Rileyen »

I used to think this kind of thing didn’t concern me. But once family members get pulled in and citizens get scanned by association, it’s hard to stay untouched.

Is this really about safety, or are we quietly building something we won’t be able to roll back?

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#126

Post by bdamm »

Buttons840 wrote: post #120
EvanAnderson wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'll be treated just as stupidly as Social Security numbers, and soon we'll have biometric data breaches. >sigh Aside: Social Security numbers should be public now, too. That ship sailed a long time ago and it should be recognized.

What if people just publicized their own social security number, and then whenever they had to deal with "identity theft", they just pointed out that their SSN is public information and so it was negligent for the company to believe it was them just because of a SSN.

Most doctor's offices just use my name and birthday to assume authorization to transfer sensitive medical information. I kinda feel like privacy is massive "emperor has no clothes" aspect of society.

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#127

Post by Sophira »

Be careful - this may be a case where they say they're going to do one thing (collect data from US citizens), but walk that part of it back after people protest - while those very same people overlook the fact that they're still going to be getting every immigrant to submit to the scans.

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#128

Post by hulitu »

miki123211 wrote: post #124
rzerowan wrote: post #67

One thing that i would prefer in biometrics would be that the iris/fingerprints get treated as what they are publicly available and easily obtainable data. At worst using it a a secret key is similar to using your name as a hidden variable for authorisation, whent it sshould strictly be a identification token.And once leaked you cant revoke it . Back on topic , a Gattaca type system is unbelievably bleak and when(not…

Biometrics can be a secure secret key, as long as there's a trusted guard manning the reader, ensuring that you're showing your real fingerprint / face and not a fake.

> Biometrics can be a secure secret key

Nadela, is that you ? /s

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#129

Post by hulitu »

ronsor wrote: post #109
duped wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should they be publicly available and easily obtainable?

1. Most people already share this data in the form of photos posted online. 2. So people don't treat it as a "secure secret," because we've been down this road more than once before.

> 1. Most people already share this data in the form of photos posted online.

So most people have a red iris. Problem solved. /s

Re: Uncle Sam wants to scan your iris and collect your DNA, citizen or not

#130

Post by steve1977 »

Rileyen wrote: post #125

I used to think this kind of thing didn’t concern me. But once family members get pulled in and citizens get scanned by association, it’s hard to stay untouched. Is this really about safety, or are we quietly building something we won’t be able to roll back?

> Is this really about safety

The question is „whose safety?“

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