Florida Digital Driver’s Licenses – Could this be a good thing for us?
Yesterday, Governor DeSantis signed HB 1313 into law. This bill brings Florida up to date with modern technology by establishing a “Digital proof of driver license“. The Digital proof of driver license is an electronic credential viewable on an electronic credentialing system. In other words, instead of having to show a plastic card, you will likely be able to show an image or display a barcode or QR code from a smartphone.
It makes sense… we have e-ticketing at airlines and concerts, we have mobile payment options at many retailers. Both make processing more efficient and mitigate fraud.
The first thing that comes to mind though, is how this will impact the branding on our driver’s license? Currently, those required to register have a prominent statute or the words “sexual predator” right there on the face of the ID. They claim that the brand is to help law enforcement quickly identify that the person is on the registry. The reality is, how often are we stopped by police, as opposed to having to show our license to buy a drink at a bar or cash a paycheck? Besides, law enforcement has access to the FCIC/NCIC system that would flag us anyhow, and generally people don’t stop to show their ID before sexually assaulting someone, so what’s the point?
If the digital license/ID shows only relevant information, this could be a good thing. Why does the bartender need to know if you’re an organ donor? Why does the bank teller need to know if you’re a safe driver? And why does the cashier at Walmart need to know you are a sex offender?
The bill (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/1313/BillText/er/PDF) doesn’t get into what does and what does not get displayed on the digital drivers licenses, so we’ll have to wait and see. This can either be a good thing in the sense that we can now show ID to store clerks and bank tellers without having to shame ourselves, or we’ll just keep displaying our scarlet letters. We’ll wait and see.
Maybe the agenda is to make it easier for a date to see if you won’t assault them. However what will happen if a person gets sexually assaulted and the person isn’t on the hit list? Makes my head spin by thinking what will they come up with next. Hopefully this isn’t what some might fear.
Digital ID will still be flagged for registry status. Places registrants take their children, and other businesses, will find those flags useful for public safety. Software developers will compete for contracts to provide the state with this useful public safety feature.
Right?
Or do we think the state will now cut registrants a break, just because ID’s are migrating to a new system?
DeSantis and our legislature understand that license branding is popular among those who care about child safety but who haven’t read the studies.
Our legislature will be dumb enough to view this as a sex offender loophole.
If that happens it’s another reason I’m grateful I moved out of Florida; however I’ll help anyway I can for people and their families currently in Florida with these insane laws. Even the people I’ve met who still live in Florida have said these laws are crazy. They’ve called and written their representatives making sure their voices are heard and they aren’t going away.
What happens to elderly people or people like myself who are stuck in the 1970s and do not use a smart phone? They are trying to force everyone into the iluminati by having everything about your life stored in a data base.
They are pushing also with the digital wallets to do away with cash. They think this will stop illegal activies like drug deals. Even though they could just use the digital for the deal, law enforcement would be able to track those transactions easier.
But back to my question. Older people do not always adapt to these technologies. Heck I have a tv I still use that my grandparents had in the 1960s. Still works as good as the day it was built.
Our QR code will most likely be intentionally made the color red.
Just like we can’t renew our licenses (must show up in person even thought in person registration went into effect and should have replaced this) or car registration online (must mail it instead. why?), registrants will likely be ineligible for this too.
Just read Cosby was released. Conviction overturned by Supreme Court.
To clarify Jed, Cosby’s conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court was NOT involved in this case.
Bob
No, no you are both wrong and misread the story. It was actually The singing group, The “Supremes” who spoke on his behalf and got him released. LOL …..(Ok a little humor)
They most likely will charge the RSO’s extra money for the added software cost. I am so overwhelmed with worry on future technologies. Was getting use to the norm,,,,,,,, The new norm will be harder to get used to.
Folks I think if this info is on your DL they can digitize the SO info easy enough. Info tends to “round up” with more info, not less. We are not dealing with old fashioned military style dog tags.
How allowing the public access to a RS location via proximity software so they will know when any of us are standing near them?
Sentinel
If that is allowed, you will see a lot of people on the registry being attacked more often. I can see it now. You are in Walmart and everyone gets an alert on their phone that a registered sex offender is within 50 feet of them. Some yells “Get him” and you are pummeled to death by a crazed crowd of Government influenced idiots.
So how dumb is dumb with this age of digital. Nex thing you know they will make digital sex legal, guess they already have did that for many. Time to reproof a little bit and understand a bit of wisdom as man is in for a downfall. Guess its starts when your always afraid. So who is stepping out of line.
If this sex registry wasn’t bad enough. Heck in parts of TN you can’t even get a good signal and I’m sure many other places. This I-phone is like being in step or keeping up with the Jones’s. Seems like everybody has a theory. Should one go back to who’s on first? or maybe who’s getting the boner out of this sex slave adjustment by internet. Or who is meddling in others affairs.
Guess people are paranoid. Even authorities have screwed things up by this registry inducement and now “digital licenses” must be some real wise “Trump” type government foolish people that don’t even know how to spell Tallahassassess or someone is using to much cock butter in their mixed drinks down there. There’s something to this digital stuff that is very uncanny and unwise or is Florida the most prideful state in the nation. A bill like this sucks for air.
A printed DL has a finite amount of space which limits how much data the State can place on it. A digital version, depending on the type used, may also be limited but I would expect that limit to be much higher and if it is done with a smart phone app, virtually limitless. Hopefully Florida residents will have the option for many years to come to carry the carded license.
Even without a smart phone app, big government could tie an infinite amount of information to a regular, printed DL. That is assuming that Floriduh assigns unique number/letter IDs to each DL (state where I live does (each driver has a unique #) and I think it’s a good assumption that Floriduh does but I’m too lazy to check it out). All big government would have to do is to allow anyone to look up your information from that ID. Then they could easily get your entire Hit List dossier and more.
It would be trivial to do that. Some (maybe all) systems that they use to check IDs at schools already do it to some degree. They scan your DL and it checks the Hit Lists. It may or may not use your number/letter ID (versus your name, address, etc.). But an infinite amount of information could be made available exactly like that. To any business or person. No digital license required. I expect that is coming soon enough.
Related, where I live I am seeing more and more neighborhoods that have Automatic License Plate Scanners. They scan every vehicle in their neighborhood. I fully expect that people are going to whine and cry until big government allows them electronic access to every PFRs’ license plate numbers. Then those neighborhoods will flag all “sex offender” vehicles. Then they’ll need a new “law” to restrict THOSE people from driving around their greatness.
It is all a bunch of idiotic, illegal nonsense. No informed, intelligent, moral person supports it.
China already does this. And that makes me concerned. We know that China has been adept at getting its population to sacrifice privacy in favor of convenience.
It’s unclear to me what sort of privacy safeguards are built into this law. Just because Gov. DeSantis banned vaccine passports, does not necessarily mean that he cares about your privacy. And we know that Florida sheriffs— reliable supporters of the Governor— often pride themselves on their ability to use the law to surveil registrants.
I’ve had the statute # on my card for years. Not once had anyone react strange to it. So don’t see the benefit.
But possibly “Sexual Predators” (mislabeled as many are not actual sexual predators) will get a tiny bit more privacy for themselves and their families.
Convince of having digital copy of you license seems logical in this era, however what information would be on their not related to driving. Personally it sounds good but I don’t trust the Florida government. I could see Florida Sheriffs have their press conference with digital copies of licenses of people forced to register plastered on tv.
Brandon
This “All digital” World is not good for our elderly population. I have several elderly neighbors who can barely operate a flip phone, no less trying to figure out a smart phone. There at least needs to be options for those who otherwise cannot do such things.
I once got pulled over and tried to show the officer my digital proof of insurance and he wanted to see a real hard copy. Said anyone can fake stuff online. Luckily I still had a printed copy of my car insurance in glove box. Of course this was back when they first started doing that but guess he was slow to adapt as well.
I heard that you can even wave a card in front of some gas pumps and start pumping. That is all well and good until you get hacked. I can see the hackers now stealing our drivers license info, stored online just waiting for the easy pickings.
How does this comply with the REAL ID act which states must comply with for their residents when traveling is scheduled where no other ID is available to be shown at TSA, etc or have an alternate method to prove they are who they say they are, e.g. passport? I realize this is out of scope for this forum’s topic on DL monikers, but in thinking about it, I wonder if the digital DL will not have a marker but the person will carry another marker to complement the digital DL?
Just wondering why an article about virtual DL would so quickly dissolve into wondering how the new system will affect sex offender registrants and who will or will not see their status. To boot, about 75% of the comments are lamenting the same. Wth? Are we now coddling sex offenders?? “Oh no, someone might find out I fondled an 8-year-old three years ago.” Why yes, that’s called a CONSEQUENCE, when truth hits the light of day. I’m sick of people trying to lighten or normalize pedophilia. Further, this may be a concern for a small minority of DL holders, but why focus on THIS as opposed to data privacy concerns, what other digital citizenship requirements may follow, etc.
Please take your sick fantasies about fondling 8-year-olds elsewhere. You are in the wrong forum sicko.
Dear #Facts:
No one here is trying to normalize or condone criminal acts. What I find fascinating is that you’re supporting privacy and digital citizenship, which is what this is about. If I’m following your logic, it’s only a matter of time before none of your information is private. People forced to register find that much of their private information is public. People here are for privacy. I would think that you would be standing with registrants since it feels like we both want the same thing. I would love to have an honest conversation with you, and answer any questions that you may have.
@ #Facts, I’m not concerned about rational people being fully aware of my past offense. I just don’t want that data to keep me from being able to get a job or from finding a decent place to live. I don’t want that data to threaten me with felony arrest, should I neglect to report a temporary address, an Internet identifier, or a vehicle that I just rented. I don’t want that data haunting me in that way for the rest of my life. The registry is much, much more about punishing me than informing the public.
#fact sounds like sicko that hasn’t been caught. How about people off registry from dumb cops going stings on adult sites and put people in jail to justify their numbers. You sound like ya big talker talking big words behind ya screen. Who have no clue of thing. Plus look up the words before using It because pedophile is not a word used just because on registry. So back jerk off to sesame street sicko and get educated.