Forwarded from FCREF.org newsletter: Coalition for Constitutional Liberties Weekly Update for 3/20/98 Volume I, Number 5 >From the Center for Technology Policy of the Free Congress Foundation phone: 202-546-3000 fax: 202-544-2819 http://www.fcref.org/ctp/ For a Web version of this update go to: http://www.fcref.org/ctp/wu032098.htm ***** ***** Banking industry pushing for digital signature and fingerprinting legislation A bill recently introduced and currently being considered by the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services and Technology would give the banking industry wide and sweeping powers to collect customer fingerprints and digital signatures. Called the "Digital Signature and Electronic Authentication Law (SEAL) of 1998", S. 1594 authorizes banks and financial institutions to establish electronic funds transfer systems which rely on "identity authentication" for conducting financial transactions. Electronic financial transactions will necessitate the use of either digitized biometric data submitted by a customer on demand at the point of the transaction (such as fingerprints and retina scans), or else the use of embedded microchips which can electronically store a customer's "electronic signature." However, in this case, the "signature" is not referring to a traditional written signature. It is, instead, an electronically stored representation of any one of an individual's many unique identifying attributes, referred to as "biometric" identification data. In a hearing held on March 11th on SEAL, Subcommittee Chairman Robert Bennett (R-UT), who is also the sponsor of the legislation, said "Putting pen to paper to sign a document has served us well, but as our country moves toward the 21st Century and heads into the digital age, electronic forms of authentication will be essential as transactions increasingly move from paper to open networks." While there are legitimate concerns about verifying a person's identity in electronic commerce, SEAL permits banking institutions to use ANY legal technology available at their disposal. This could quite quickly include genetic imaging. This applies to anyone who wants to utilize the services of that particular institution. For instance, if you want to cash a check from another party at their bank, that bank could require you to submit to a retinal scan, or collect your fingerprint for verification purposes. This information will then be stored along with the electronic record of the transaction. SEAL also preempts states from imposing regulations on how that collected information can be used. In addition, SEAL would establish none other than the Federal Reserve as the oversight and reporting authority to Congress on electronic authentication. The bill also encourages global implementation and recognition of technological standards sharing. It should come as no surprise that the banking industry is fully in support of SEAL. Trying to lower their expenses related to fraud, the banking industry would have much to gain by taking advantage of the Orwellian identification technology that is being developed by companies around the globe. At the recent hearings, representatives from VISA, Citibank and the Bankers Roundtable all gave their hearty endorsements to SEAL. However, the rights and liberties of citizens and customers ought to be considered prior to approving and implementing such technology. Read the Senate subcommittee testimony and opening statements on S. 1594: http://www.senate.gov/~banking/98_03hrg/031198/index.htm Read more on S. 1594 from THOMAS: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d105:SN01594:@@@L
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