State Assemblyman Joseph J. Roberts (D., Camden) wants to move more slowly. He's pushing an alternative that would merely move New Jersey out of the Stone Age by putting a digitized photo on licenses. He fears that the smart card might be an invitation to Big Brother. You don't have to be the kind of person who scans the skies for black helicopters to share the concern.
More than 20 states have passed on the smart-card idea because of concern that government, corporations or criminals could use this digitized cornucopia to invade privacy.
New Jersey officials reason that individuals wouldn't be required to put anything on their card beyond the usual driver's information. Any other data would be added by driver's option and protected by codes.
But the American Civil Liberties Union notes that the FBI is trying to get Congress to give it special access to the kind of encryption technology that would be used to protect phone calls and possibly smart cards.
The FBI makes a plausible case that this tool would help it track drug dealers and terrorists. But government agencies don't always limit their use of investigative tools to their original purpose. Consider also the potential for havoc presented by hackers.
Even if some of the more dire scenarios about government identity cards strike you as paranoid, plenty of evidence has arisen that the digital world is puncturing unexpected holes in privacy. It's enough to raise cautions about what Mr. Roberts calls ``the pedal to the metal'' speed with which Gov. Whitman is moving.
Better to go slowly, produce Mr. Roberts' ``dumb'' card for now, and study up a bit more on whether the AccessNJ card might be a little too smart for its owner's good.
