"The scanner catches fake IDs and records a person's driver's license number, birth date, address, height, weight, eye and hair colors. It also saves a photo of what the patron was wearing that night." This information is easily downloaded to the club's computer.
If necessary, the machine can then search for people by name, gender, description or number of visits. Furthermore, it can provide statistics regarding the number of patrons the club has each night, their age and gender (which can then be used to influence marketing strategy).
A major benefit of this device is to deter unruly and violent behavior. "One of the main reasons people will misbehave is because they have anonymity," Carpenter said. "But when you can record their name and take their photo, they no longer have that anonymity. When problems do occur, suspects can be easily identified in the device; their personal information can then be sent to the police. Bouncers can also place a message next to the person's name in the computer, allowing for a reminder the next time they try to enter.
However it is important to remember that this is sensitive information and should be treated as such. As we have seen in class, when in the wrong hands, data as innocent as e-mail addresses can lead to finicanial woes. I believe that if this information was downloaded to a computer, access to it would have to be limited to one or two people; if necessary read-only access could be granted to others. Additionally, there should only be one bouncer with this device per club. A thorough background check would be required for the position. The club would also have to determine how long these personal records should be stored in their database, or if it is only necessary to keep information on their most active customers (defined as one who visits once a month minimum). And as with all technology, one must determine if the benefits outweigh the risks.
http://gazettextra.com/news/2008/sep/09/high-tech-gadgets-new-security-feature-bars/
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I think this could actually work against the club. I think customers might not want to give their personal information to the club just for the efforts of catching people using fake IDs and for marketing information. I would imagine that on your drivers license it holds even more personal information than a credit card such as arrest records, tickets, etc. I also don't think a club is the safest record keeping place. I think some clubs have a hard enough time just keeping their books straight and not losing that information.
ReplyDeleteCassondra has a very good point. However, I wouldn't underestimate the degree to which patrons want to enter a club or bar. I mean, it people who are not yet 21 are willing to risk getting caught for underage drinking--or are willing to go through the process of getting a fake ID--they may be willing to be briefly scanned by this machine.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of that argument, I do agree this device might work against the club--but in a different sense. The information that this device would acquire and transmit would make the club much more liable to lawsuits if the information becomes compromised. In addition, the time, effort, and energy that the club would have to expand in order to purchase the machines (and the software), hire bouncers willing to use the machine with acceptable backgrounds, and teach bouncers how to use the machine may be a financial burden to the club.
Finally, I wholeheartedly agree with Dorian that the information is very sensitive. Pictures and personal information can be very valuable to malicious people, and I don't think clubs would have the necessary security measures in place to prevent all the wrong people from viewing the information. Even methods like "no read up" or "no write up" would not be sufficient--I think--to protect that kind of sensitive information.
I think that if device was strictly used to idenitify fake ID's then it would be a good idea. The idea that all sorts of personal information would be stored and used for marketing and possibly be sold is very unsettling. Clubs are not exactly a model for information security and the idea that they would be storing key personal data is a very bad idea
ReplyDeleteI believe that the clubs should be responsible for making sure that the information is protected. If they are going to take hold of this information they should take the proper precautions to protect it. Also, I do not believe that many of the people trying to get in to the club even realize that their information is being taken they most likely believe that it is just checking to see if they are 21.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether it should be legal to collect this information without the patrons consent. I hand over my ID without thinking about it, and it's conceivable that they are using a device like the one Dorian described. I am assuming the clubs aren't telling people that they are taking this information, so it seems illegal and immoral to me. It seems almost as bad as stealing the information.
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