Australian school implemented a biometrics system to prevent its bathrooms from being vandalized

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A secondary school in Sydney, Australia, considered implementing a fingerprint identification system to keep track of students who vandalized its toilets.

Under this modality, access to the school bathrooms are protected by a registration system that works with fingerprints or, failing that, with magnetic cards.

Registration of biometric data for the internal protection of a school in Sydney

Moorebank High School implemented this controversial measurewhich has raised some questions in its community regarding the security and privacy of the data of the students involved.

Participation in this program is optional, but even so, access to the restrooms is protected by an access filter. “If students or parents prefer, students can also access the toilets during those times by obtaining an access card from the office,” a spokeswoman for the Australian Department of Education said, regarding those who do not want to participate in this. Control with your fingerprint.

“All parents were notified via school newsletters and minutes of community focus group meetings were also emailed to all parents”added the spokeswoman, in conversation with local outlet ABC News.

The controversy surrounding this measure, which has spread from the educational establishment community to digital rights defenders, lies in the fact that biometrics measure the unique physical or behavioral characteristics of a person, for identification purposes. The most widely used resource for these purposes is the fingerprint, but in other instances it can also be other sensitive data, such as the face, iris, voice or the way a person walks, writes, behaves or expresses an emotion.

This debate is new to Australia and still foreign to much of the world. However, it is not entirely new, since similar projects have already been launched in the United Kingdom since 2000 and in the United States, since 2006, for attendance controls or enabling access to certain sectors such as libraries or cafeterias. .

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Around these technologies, there is a lucrative business of companies known as “edtech”. However, its expansion has been subject to ethical objections due to potential violations of student privacy, security, identity theft, and violations of children’s rights and freedoms.

While the legislative authorities and those responsible for the educational establishments of each country assume their part in this debate, it is important that the educational communities, mainly parents and students, question some critical aspects of these initiatives to obtain the pertinent guarantees.

Knowing exactly what information is collected, when and for what purpose, as well as under what conditions this data is stored, managed and secured, is extremely important to adequately justify the option to participate or not in these programs. Also, being aware of the alternatives offered to those who want to marginalize themselves from these systems and even the budgetary repercussions of their implementation is key to making well-considered decisions.