Fingerprint Checkout
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A primary school near Manchester, England, is the latest to use fingerprint recognition to replace library cards for children, raising concerns among privacy experts. Few schools or libraries in the United States use the technology, which translates fingerprints into digital data that’s retrievable by computers, according to Jared Kaprove, domestic surveillance counsel with the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Higher Lane Primary in Whitefield, Bury, plans to use biometric data, which most commonly includes fingerprints and iris scans. Students checking out a book will swipe its bar code then press their thumb onto a scanner to authorize the loan. School officials defended the plan, saying that the voluntary system is heavily encrypted and that no fingerprint images will be stored. “One of our biggest worries about biometric databases is that if it’s compromised, you can never get it back,” says Kaprove. Unlike a credit card, a fingerprint can’t be reissued, “which makes it, of course, much more valuable to steal,” she says.—
