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An ID is what it is. An Identification Document to identify a person in front of all authorities. An ID should be a unique document to identify the identified and determine that he is the person who he claims to be. The purpose of an ID is to act as a tool where people could act against government authorities and other persons and engage in commerce, reliable ties and enforce any rule enacted. Should people have no true identity; where one can deny or invent his own new identity, would we be able to engage in our daily actions?

1.
The first problem with IDs is that they are quite easy to obtain. In Israel, for example, in order to obtain the national ID card, you need to come with one of your parents’ ID to the bureau of civil affairs; there, with one parent ID you can obtain your own ID, that means that from that point in time onwards, you are a specific person. Let’s assume that an identity thief sends his son to the bureau with a stolen ID from a parent or with a fake parent ID (since Israeli IDs are easily faked), then from that moment onwards he has a specific identity. He can open a bank account under that name (and borrow money he does not plan to repay), enrol his “son” to professional courses, borrow money to purchase a house under that fake identity and then sell it with grave losses (which might cause his “son” to be bankrupt, but will pass on the house at a great price); all and all, Obtaining an identity in Israel is not a hard task.

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As easy as getting an identity in Israel, the US identity is quite easier. In the state of Maine, it is sufficient to come with two school records, or a birth certificate and a school report card to get a driver’s license. In California you can do so with an employee card. And In Kansas you can bring a birth certificate and a utility bill. Well, obtaining an Identity is not a hard Task.

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The big difference between Israel and the United states (and other states) is that Israel has a national identity database. The US, even if it has a database, it is too scattered and inefficient. Lacking a census in the US means one thing – Aliases could be adopted. In comparison, In Israel it would be quite hard to establish a new identity, while in the US you could have several driver licenses from the same state under different aliases

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Imagine a hypothetical situation: A couple has two identical twins. The parents received two birth certificates and drove home. (1) Could there exist a situation where one day the parents will confuse and replace the twins’ identity and de-facto, like a fairytale one twin will receive the other’s fate? (2) If, by any chance, one of the twins will die, would the parents be able to hide the body and sell the dead son’s identity? Meaning, that in the same ease that a virtual character could be sold, the parent will trade their son’s right to open a bank account, establish corporations, contract and go bankrupt?.

(Image cc-by-sa-nc Chubby Bat)

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Now, getting back to Israel; Israel, as far as I know, has no national database of archived pictures even after Issuing an ID; Therefore, when a person loses his ID and wishes to issue a new one, he is requested to show some kind of identification like an Army ID or marriage certificate. Meaning that the state of Israel can’t identify me after I’ve lost my ID in a unique manner, but it needs a similar process to the US.. The state is exposed to major fraud and there is no need to fake an ID when you can just as easily fraud yourself into getting one. Therefore, lacking only the ability to issue a new identity, the establishment of digital identities and/or virtual identities is quite easy.

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During the last few years, and mostly due to the fear of terrorism, The United States is pushing towards a national ID database which will include the exact killer application – the ability to identify people. In spite major criticisms from civil rights organisations, it is quite important to comprehend that without a reachable digital database to all the people in a certain state, there could still be commerce and life, but not the same life that identifiable and unique people could have.

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In the past there were no IDs, and passports were just a document where your picture was stapled next to a government seal; you were identified at your bank by personal acquaintance with the clerks and paid your utility bills in cash. In the past, a letter certifying that your are a decent person meant that you could open a bank account. Nowadays, we face the same problem as the most advanced security systems can’t still do one thing, track a person from the day he was born till he returns his soul to the creator and certify that he is the person he claims to be.

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The concept of IDs seems natural to Israeli Citizens, we take them everywhere, transact using them on a daily level and use our ID number everywhere. Now, there remains one flaw, the human flaw.

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Every security system has its weakest link, the one that there is no possibility but to use. In banks tellers could steal the cash or a clerk could lie to her customers and take their money, the human link is the weakest in every security system. However, even RFID chips could be faked or copied after being transplanted in people, so security could never be complete. How could we deal with the identity problem? Do we increase requirements from persons to identify in every second in order to prevent fraud or do we go back to the old method, where we relied only on personal knowledge?

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And identity trading, should it be allowed? Meaning, can I, as a person, trade my good name, my property, my utility bills in the same way People trade their Myspace Profile or any other virtual character? Can a person’s right to his body include his right to sell his identity and start with a new one?