] A patron walks into a bar and orders a drink. The
] bartender asks to see some ID. Without asking permission,
] the barkeep swipes the driver's license through a card
] reader and the device flashes a green light approving the
] order.
]
] The bartender is just verifying the card isn't a fake,
] right? Yes, and perhaps more.

[ Best freak-out tone ] Now the FBI is going to know everywhere I ever go!! Is no place save anymore!? [ / ]

Seriously though.. Just last night, out with ballsdeep, he had a problem with the way this girl ID'd him, making it necessary for us to flee the bar.. That didn't even involve a scanner. I think she was hitting on him. She asked me my sign. Usually, my Jersey license just gets a kinda sneer.. Something you have and something you know? That's a better way of validating the ID then asking my birthday. This night, the bar got a lot of information. However, I feel bd misinterpreted the situation.

Vegas for instance.

What can you say after that?

Anyway.. After a few very high profile shit storms come down on venues that misuse collected information, it should become apparent that if you screw your customer base, they will find out, and not be happy about it. People still do need to be more aware of when their information is collected and how it is used. Entities who collect information also need to be aware that it is their responsibility to protect the information they collect from being compromised and misused.

Oh yeah. I am a big fan of "opt-out".. As I was reading this article, I found myself contemplating a "the ID doesn't leave my site" policy. The situations I really don't like, are the ones when someone takes your ID away from you and checks it. Like restaurants where the bartender has to check the card, so the waitress takes it. Its not like my credit card, it doesn't need to be verified against something external. That shouldn't be necessary. Everytime that happens, I feel like they take the thing somewhere, photo copy it, it gets entered in some database, images of old punchcard computers fly through my head and morph into things spitting out junk-mail envelopes, etc.. I don't mind when the person I'm interfacing with needs to know who I am, and authenticate my age. That's ok. Its when the information spreads outside that transaction space, it becomes a problem. I feel like I should ask for a printed privacy policy.

This whole situation is one of the reasons I love my Jersey ID. No barcodes. No chips. No mag strips. Its laminated even! Very low tech. However, a skilled eye can tell a fake. I'm going to miss it when I switch over to Cali.

Here is a question for the MemeStreams community.. If you were proposing legislation for laws governing how venues can collect and use information from IDs, what would you propose?

Wired News: Great Taste, Less Privacy