September 28, 2007 2:14PM # TechCrunch Exposes D.C. Trade Association Advocacy for REAL ID By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) --- SHARE In [an excellent post](http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/28/conflicts-of-interest-why-do-microsoft-aol-yahoo-red-hat-and-others-support-a-national-id/), Michael Arrington at [TechCrunch](http://www.techcrunch.com/) notes the advocacy of the [Information Technology Association of America](http://www.itaa.org/) in favor of the REAL ID Act, our nation’s moribund national ID law. His title “[Conflicts of Interest: …](http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/28/conflicts-of-interest-why-do-microsoft-aol-yahoo-red-hat-and-others-support-a-national-id/)” draws out nicely the schism that ITAA’s advocacy for REAL ID creates for its membership. They work to serve us when they sell products directly, but work to hurt us when they sell surveillance infrastructure to the government. Helpfully, he also provides links to information about the [House](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_1117.html) and [Senate](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_SN_717.html) bills to repeal REAL ID. Asked in the comments how he would characterize himself politically, Arrington replies, “hard core libertarian.” ##### Related Tags [Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).