A recent news story out of Australia about how a pub was requiring biometric data to get a drink drew a lot of attention. It was not the first story like that I’ve posted to this blog, and sadly, it won’t be the last.
Over on Privacy Lives, the story inspired Melissa Ngo to pull together links to other stories from the U.S. and around the world involving businesses demanding too much data. Here’s a snippet:
The issue of businesses gathering and sometimes storing their customers’ identification data is gaining in prominence. In September, San Francisco’s mayor and police urged nightclubs and other entertainment businesses to implement new surveillance measures, including the use of ID scanners that electronically store a customer’s license or ID data. Also last year, businesses such as 24 Hour Fitness gyms and a Maryland recreation center began gathering customers’ fingerprints. In 2009, Utah passed a law (pdf) that required bars and clubs to use “an electronic verification program” (basically, an ID-scanning and data-gathering system) for people who appear younger than 35. In 2007, there was an uproar in New Jersey when it was revealed that some bar, restaurant and retail organizations were scanning and downloading their patrons’ license data, often without the customers’ knowledge.
Read more on Privacy Lives.