REAL ID: privacy concerns still a factor, but weakly so

Abstract

Statewide research conducted to design a campaign to inform Montana residents about the REAL ID Act supported previous claims that some Rocky Mountain residents view the law as an invasion of privacy. Although most Montana residents (60%, n = 194) planned to get their REAL IDs within the first year that it became available, 43% ( n = 141) of respondents to a survey of registered voters ( n = 325) intended to wait more than one year or never obtain it. Individuals who planned to wait were more likely to report concerns about government collection of personal data, and view the law as an invasion of privacy. However, the relationship is weak. As one of several states that opposed adoption of the Real ID Act in, Montana was characterized in academic and lay media as basing its opposition on concerns about violations of privacy. State officials were so concerned that residents would object to the imposition of the new ID, that REAL ID campaign organizers were directed to only raise awareness, and avoid any efforts at persuasion. Focus groups conducted to assess responses to several campaign strategies indicated an approach that described REAL ID as consistent with traditional Montana values of independence, but did not confront privacy concerns. This paper uses quantitative and qualitative data in an attempt to understand how strong such resistance in Montana actually was.

How Social Media Comments Inform the Promotion of Mask-Wearing and Other COVID-19 Prevention Strategies

“…For instance, in the United Kingdom, Maio et al found a backlash reaction to antiracism messages when people were ambivalent toward ethnic minority groups [ 6 ]. Keller et al found backlash reactions occurred among men when presented with domestic violence-prevention messages that stereotyped men as perpetrators [ 7 ]. Similar backlash reactions have occurred in response to anti-littering messages in the United States [ 8 ].…”

Real ID campaign raises questions about privacy concerns

“…Although inoculation messages to promote public security measures in the wake of 9/11 or COVID-19 may have been sensible, erosion of public opposition to the Real ID Act seems to have undermined the need for such sophisticated marketing campaigns in this instance. No good data is available to document the level of public resistance to the Act at the time of its passage (Keller et al 2020). The fact that numerous state governments opposed the federal mandate with anti-Real ID statutes over the past 10-15 years, does not confirm the presence of popular opposition -either then or now.…”