Freedom of Information requests sent by Big Brother Watch to more than 2,500 secondary schools revealed that more than 866,000 children were having their fingerprints taken.
That was for the academic year 2012-13 and, now the 2013-2014 term has started, the privacy group believes that figure has risen above one million.
In a regional breakdown, Big Brother Watch found many schools were fingerprinting children without first obtaining their parents' consent. In the North East, just 47% of schools running biometrics got permission.
It isn't clear why schools have been taking kids' fingerprints, though similar research from the Conservative Party in 2007 suggested the systems are being used in libraries and canteens.
"The key issue is consent and the broader social risk of conditioning kids to think being fingerprinted everywhere is normal," Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles told PC Pro.
The kids aren’t alright
Under new rules introduced under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, schools will need to obtain parental consent this academic year.
But Pickles remains concerned about those registered on school systems before the new rules came into force. Prior to the changes, a third of schools using biometrics in England had not asked for permission.
"Our concern is kids who were fingerprinted before the deadline (in theory all but the new bottom year) and also some schools either not bothering, or burying it in small print," he added.
Pupils themselves can also object to being included in biometric programmes, meaning schools must provide alternative access to services that require fingerprints for authentication.
Pickles does not believe schools are gaining much of a security benefit from biometrics, as they are not commonly used for access control, but "just to get rid of some admin in libraries or canteens".
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Tom Brewster
Quelle/Source: PC Pro, 03.01.2014
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