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Six months after my first article about the use of Clubscan to scan the driving licences of all drinkers at the Rat and Parrot in Crawley, the news of my petition surfaced on the front of The London Metro newspaper today. It seems James Brokenshire (MP for Hornchurch and Shadow Home Affairs Minister) has heard about what’s going on with software like Clubscan and raised some concerns publicly. Yesterday I was contacted by the Metro news desk and asked for my thoughts – today I was quoted in the Metro.

It’s interesting to see the web comments that have come off the back of this Metro article. Many people are highlighting their venue safety concerns and stressing their happiness with such a system if providing personal protection & where warranted - conviction. I too think that from a safety perspective the theory behind the scheme carries benefits for the non drug-taking, non-knife wielding clubber like myself. However, what I disagree with is such software being rolled out incorrectly i.e. Untrained / unmonitored door staff, unsecured laptops, missing public information notices, options to opt out of ID scanning without fear of rejection from said venue, and ongoing checks on use & security of the data. Furthermore I don’t like the sound of Clubscan in particular because it has a very strong marketing angle in its functionality – label printing etc.

The ‘Right Honourable’ James Brokenshire wrote to me this morning telling me that he has written to the Information Commissioner asking for extra protection on ID scanning usage and reminders of data protection obligations for the leisure industry, for that I am glad. Safety is important, but so is personal data security at a time when identity theft is on the increase, regulation IS required here.

Technorati Tags: clubscan, james brokenshire, metro news, newspaper, matt peskett, id scanning, identity theft

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