EU national online ID proposal may be administered via Facebook affecting US data privacy

Privacy concerns with existing data sharing practices complicate EU-US identity policies  

BTC- As US Facebook members are jumping like fleas off of a drowning dog, the social network extends it's plan to to administer online ID in the United Kingdom.  For now, the plan may use Facebook's authentication systems for a European online identity proposal, as the functional equivalent of the US NSTIC proposal.  Facebook failed to secure a bid to perform this function in the United States serving "drivers licenses" for the Internet in an original pass with the NSTIC program.

Many have found fault with the social network's data mining policies, its sympatico relationships with federal intelligence agencies for unaccountable surveillance, and finally it's utter disregard for privacy practices while administering Real ID, a "voluntary" live online identity system to Blizzard's World of Warcraft susbscribers.

There are existing privacy concerns over ways the United States handles data from across the pond. The Patroit Act may be overreaching by asking the EU to comply with terms of our domestic laws.  PNR (passenger name & travel data) and SWIFT (EU-US financial records) data handling policies may be soon out of Congressional oversight, if proposals are put through a secretive process using an Executive Order from the White House, according to Identity Project's,  Edward Hasbrouck,  a panel speaker at today's CFP Conference in Washington D.C.  Mary Callahan, with DHS' privacy office, made note of similarities over current EU-USdata sharing practices, saying, "We are the same family."  Jan Albrecht, another panelist for the EU parlaiment, expressed cautions over arbitrary computerized surveillance of European citizens.  At one point, he made comparisons of Nazi policy to the current direction of US data handling.  Undoubtedly a more believable statement due to the fact he is German and not a Fox News opinion leader.

Government proponents of the UK identity system felt the need to clue in civil liberty groups like, No2ID, in advance so the plan would not be altogether eviscerated before evaluating and managing privacy problems.

“It’s not a bad thing in itself to check that the person you are talking to is the person you want to talk to,” [said No2ID's, Guy Herbert]. “But whatever the good intentions at the outset, the fear will always be that the bureaucratic imperative to collect and share more data about the public will take over.”

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