If the material information he provided was true then all the other silliness is just silliness. I mean, the agent is going to search on the name, probably find a photo in a license database, and confirm the guy is who he says he is, and that is the only point of asking for ID. They are hardly strong authenticators, and no professional is going to take some random bit of ID and use the non-identifying data on it to make decisions. What do you think they are going to do with the data anyway?
The fact is also that Woz did nothing wrong. So why does he have to automatically cowtow to an authority figure? He provided the materially important information in a humorous way. He didn’t do anything wrong. He poked the bear, but only a little bit.
Finally - not every citizen has a passport or even a drivers license. So even if requested, it’s not always possible to produce it.
Honestly - I admire Woz, but I will admit that I find his pranks to be a bit self indulgent. So what? He literally did nothing wrong and poked a bit of fun at the state.
Nothing for or against Woz, but I for sure would never intentionally provide fictitious information or document to US federal investigator if situation ever presented itself, since ultimately once done it would be up to the investigator to present it for prosecution and judge to decide if it merited conviction.
Woz makes it sound like the agent actually accepted the fake ID, but they clearly did not, since per Woz, they not only made him produce a drivers license, but also his passport.
Why even put yourself in that position over a joke?
