When Carly Johannesson takes her post at the IDA drugstore's cash register in Medicine Hat, Alta., she places her finger on a small pad that reads the fingerprint and electronically gives her access to the system.

The biometrics system has wider uses and implications, which touch consumers too: Some U.S. retail chains already are piloting the scans for shoppers. Customers at the checkout can get their purchases automatically recorded on their credit card, along with loyalty rewards, simply by leaving their fingerprint. While touted as an efficient and usually full-proof means of identification, privacy advocates and unions have raised the spectre of the information getting into the wrong hands and being used for unintended purposes. "There's a potential for abuse," says Michael Fraser, national director of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents many grocery and drugstore employees. He is wary of bosses introducing fingerprinting into workplaces because it's generally associated with criminal activity.

Ottawa's Office of the Privacy Commission is keeping a close watch on the impact of the new technology and is already fielding queries from concerned consumers, says spokeswoman Renée Couturier.

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From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - January 3rd, 2005