Disney's finger scanners worry privacy advocates

[Jeanette in FL]

Posted on Fri, Sep. 01, 2006

Disney's finger scanners worry privacy advocates

By KAREN HARMEL and LAURA SPADANUTA
The Associated Press

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Walt Disney World, which bills itself as one of the happiest and most magical places anywhere, also may be one of the most closely watched and secure. The nation's most popular tourist attraction is beginning to scan guests' fingerprint information.

For years, Disney has recorded onto tickets the geometry and shape of visitors' fingers to prevent ticket fraud or resale, as an alternative to time-consuming photo identification checks.

By the end of September, all of the geometry readers at Disney's four Lake Buena Vista theme parks will be replaced with machines that scan fingerprint information, according to industry experts familiar with the technology. The four parks attract tens of millions of visitors each year.
"It's essentially a technology upgrade," said Kim Prunty, Walt Disney World spokeswoman. The new scanner, like the old finger geometry scanner, "takes an image, identifies a series of points, measures the distance between those points, and turns it into a numerical value."

<snip>

But privacy advocates believe Disney has not fully disclosed the purpose of its new system. No signs are posted at the entrances detailing what information is being collected and how it is being used. Attendants at the entrances will explain the system, if asked. "The lack of transparency has always been a problem," said Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. She said Disney's use of the technology "fails a proportionality test" by requiring too much personal information for access to rollercoasters.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/15415885.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

File this under "WTF". I just don't like the idea of this at all.

[kurth]

1. "Disney has the nation's largest commercial application of biometrics"

"Although Disney will not disclose who makes its fingerprint scanners, biometrics experts said the new technology is likely provided by New Mexico-based Lumidigm Inc. That company has also received funding from the CIA as well as the National Security Agency and the Defense Department."

[ixion]

2. Disney's 'happy face' is only skin deep

if you look at the faces of the people who work there, you'll see the real disney.