PSA: Don’t give away your personal information without asking a lot of questions.
I’m (almost) a tin-foil-hat-wearing person when it comes to data, privacy and information security. See here for more information regarding the roots of this paranoia.
Something that I’m seeing in growing numbers across the NYC area is multi-office buildings, scanning your driver’s license (w/ a magstripe reader) in order to gain access to the building. They are then storing this information in a database, one in which you know absolutely nothing about. Nor have they given you any information regarding their data privacy policies, information security compliance, or information pertaining to who has access to that data and who they share it with.
This practice is not against the law, nor are you obligated to comply. I mean they may not allow you to access the building, but in most cases they just let you access the building anyway. In some cases you are able to suggest that they ONLY visually inspect your ID. Or if they insist, ask for them to show you their IDs and take a picture of that (a bit snarky, but you get the idea).
The point of this post is to let you know that you have options, and to use them. The US has only a patchwork of laws, and most of them require that “individuals should self-regulate to prevent the dissemination of their private data.” Which is as ridiculous as it sounds. Sadly, the the US has not yet developed a single, federal data protection law. California, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and the EU have much tighter restrictions in place in regards to third-party access to, and retention of, information on driver’s licenses.
The information contained on your personal identity cards (licenses, passports, etc) is yours. You should always exercise caution when sharing it with anyone. Your driver’s license contains way more information than what is necessary to access a building (with very few exceptions). Don’t give up that information without asking some very reasonable questions.
“Your identity is worth the hassle” — IdentityForce
Curious? Here’s where you can read some more about this:
- A Creeping Private-Sector “Checkpoint Society” — and a Small Step to Protect Your Privacy
- Driver’s License Fraud & Identity Theft
- Leaving your Identity at the Bar
- Welcome to the Database Lounge
- Wireless Identity Theft
- Are UK Nightclubs Breaking Data Laws by Storing Your IDs and Fingerprints?
That should be enough to get you going…
