A photo of your passport, face, and a biometric match — all to get a drink
web.archive.org
Privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts say the growing use of ID scanning at venues raises the risk of personal data breaches. They argue a more ambitious overhaul of privacy laws is needed.

TL;DR

ID scanning is becoming a more common requirement to access bars and clubs in Australia (and worldwide). A company called ScanTek is used in over 1,000 clubs in Aus and provides tools such as biometric-matching someone’s face to an ID, detecting fake IDs, flagging people and sharing data with other venues automatically

As well as verifying ages, ScanTek boasts “collect marketing information from IDs and drivers licences, which business owners can use to target specific demographics with promotions” on its website in a pitch to business owners. Though they claim to not share any of this with third parties

Australia’s privacy laws are vague, don’t specify what can be collected and how it must be stored, and only say that companies shouldn’t keep data for longer than is “reasonable”

  • Matt@lemmy.ml
    53·
    18 hours ago

    Here in Slovakia I just show my ID to a bartender if he has any doubts about my age. And then he deduces my age based on the date of birth on the ID.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
      21·
      16 hours ago

      Here in America it’s the same. Some places always check everyone, some just check young looking people. I don’t love it, but it’s better than face scanning

      • dai@lemmy.world
        1·
        4 hours ago

        This is actually pretty minimal in Australia (as someone who has worked in Hospitality for 20+ years)

        Very few venues actually require this to enter, the majority check at the door or once you ae inside the venue.