Children Are Paying For School Lunches With Facial Scans As Dystopia Looms

Children Are Paying For School Lunches With Facial Scans As Dystopia Looms

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In a controversial move derided by privacy advocates, UK schools are introducing facial recognition as a way for kids to pay for their canteen lunch.

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Children Are Paying For School Lunches With Facial Scans As Dystopia Looms

School kids in the UK will soon have to undergo facial scanning to pay for their canteen lunches in a controversial move that critics argue will jeopardize their privacy and numb them to more egregious violations of their digital rights in the future. Facial recognition has long been at the crosshairs of privacy advocates who believe that arbitrary use of the technology is a massive violation of people’s digital privacy. But, unfortunately, the latest developments in the UK are unlikely to improve things, especially now that the matter relates to children.

While this may be the first known instance of children being subjected to facial recognition in the UK, instances of tech companies using the technology on kids have been plentiful in other parts of the world. In China, for example, Tencent recently debuted a facial recognition feature that it says will verify player identity to restrain younger users from spending too much time on gaming. The company has already integrated the facial recognition system in roughly 60 games, with plans to add more titles in the future.

According to the Financial Times, nine schools in the North Ayrshire region of the UK are introducing facial recognition as a way for kids to pay for their canteen lunch. While privacy activists are understandably shocked at the idea, the schools argue that the technology will not only save a vast amount of time, it will also be compliant with Covid safety protocols by helping minimize contact during the pandemic. CRB Cunninghams, the company that installed the systems, also tried to reassure parents of the safety and efficacy of the technology, saying that the hardware was not using live facial recognition but was instead scanning “encrypted faceprint templates” that are stored on servers at the schools.

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The Idea Is Receiving Pushback From Biometrics Experts

Biometric systems are hardly a novelty in British schools, with fingerprint scanners widely used to accept payments and monitor attendance. However, the introduction of facial recognition is receiving significant pushback from experts, many of whom believe that there’s no real need to use the controversial technology, especially in this particular case. According to Silkie Carlo, the Director of the privacy group Big Brother Watch, biometric ID checks should not be required for something as ordinary as accepting lunch payments. She said schools should not resort to “airport-style (technology)” for kids buying their lunch at the school canteen.

Another critic of the proposal is Fraser Sampson, the Biometrics Commissioner for England and Wales. Talking to FT about his take on the issue, he said that the schools should ideally use a “less intrusive way” to receive payments from children. Given the legitimate privacy concerns surrounding the technology, the schools would do well not to go in that direction, he said. However, the North Ayrshire council strongly backs the initiative, saying that 97 percent of children or their parents had given consent for the new system. According to them, children are “supportive of the planned developments” because it would free them from the hassle of having to remember PINs to pay for their canteen lunch.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/children-pay-school-lunch-facial-scans/

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