4 ms·

Where I live many places even use scanners to scan the barcodes on the back of ID. They claim this is to do things like banning people from the establishment an

by Fogest 2y ago

Where I live many places even use scanners to scan the barcodes on the back of ID. They claim this is to do things like banning people from the establishment and to try and prevent issues with fakes. However I really don't believe this excuse and think it has more to do with tracking who is visiting their establishments. Even though I'd rather not have Google storing my ID, I'd trust it A LOT more than a sketchy club/bar having such information.

akira2501 2y ago
In California I can just file a request on your license plate number for your public information. You will only be notified that I requested it. They will protect your residence address and phone number. Your ID has both a residence address and mailing address associated with it. If these are the same you don't actually get protected there. This may have changed somewhat since I'm not in a position which requires me to do this anymore but this was the standard for years. Which is why I always _highly_ recommend Californian's to get a private mail box or post office box and use that as your mailing address. Then your residence information is private and only law enforcement can see it.
- mixmastamyk 2y ago
  Was this repealed or watered-down? "Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_Privacy_Protection_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_Privacy_Protection_...
  - akira2501 2y ago
    No. You can still request and obtain the information. It's now a crime to use it unlawfully or to lie in order to obtain it, and California additionally added the feature that the requested party will be notified of the request, it doesn't really afford you any "immediate" protections. So, split that mailing address off, if you can.
- prmoustache 2y ago
  > In California I can just file a request on your license plate number for your public information. Bouncers can use any excuse to decide to let you in or not so I guess they can just say no, show me your ID/driver's license and you are fucked if you don't have one. They can even decide unilaterally to not look at your smartphone screen if you have it in google wallet, you have little recourse. What will you do, sue them because they let your friends in but you stayed outside?
lotsofpulp 2y ago
I know for a fact hotels (or motels) like to scan or copy IDs to be able to effectively bans, because the person working the front desk has no idea who is and isn’t banned, especially if a single hotel company owns or manages multiple hotels. If Hilton/marriott/IHG/choice/wyndham were not almost all franchised, then I bet they would institute global bans. I can’t imagine bars are any different.
crazygringo 2y ago
Really not sure what kind of tracking you think the establishment would be doing or why? Besides, like you say, banning people. But that's legitimate. And in terms of aggregating information, the credit card companies know who uses their cards there. ID's aren't adding anything useful. AFAIK scanning ID's really is entirely about catching fakes and banning people who have misbehaved.
- 9outof10 2y ago
  I find this to be a naive point of view. My simple rule is that a system should be categorized for what it does most of the time. I bet that person working the front door has scanned thousands of IDs, and probably only found a handful of fakes, if any. So AFAIK, they are scanning IDs and collecting data, and every blue moon, a fake is found and it is then the entire system has found it's true purpose?
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    A long time ago, I worked as a bartender. Rules for checking ID's were very strict. If cops showed up and ever found anyone under age, there were serious penalties. So yes, even if there's a fake only once every two weeks, or whatever you consider to be once in a "blue moon" -- that is the purpose of the system. Believe me, bars don't check ID's because they want to. They do it because the legal consequences are extremely serious otherwise, and "but the ID looked real to our bouncer" isn't a defense, hence the scanning. There's nothing naive. I think you just aren't familiar with the laws around this.
ogou 2y ago
FedEx requires a scan of the barcode on your license to ship packages from any of their locations. When it first started happening a few years ago, I argued with the clerks and said I didn't want my license scanned. I was willing to show my ID as proof of identity but I didn't want the barcode scan. It also reset the originating address to my home address each time, even though I was shipping for business and put the business address on the FedEx shipping form. They said it was required and the managers always confirmed. I stopped using FedEx for this reason. Never went back.

by Fogest 2y ago

akira2501 2y ago

In California I can just file a request on your license plate number for your public information. You will only be notified that I requested it. They will protect your residence address and phone number. Your ID has both a residence address and mailing address associated with it. If these are the same you don't actually get protected there. This may have changed somewhat since I'm not in a position which requires me to do this anymore but this was the standard for years. Which is why I always _highly_ recommend Californian's to get a private mail box or post office box and use that as your mailing address. Then your residence information is private and only law enforcement can see it.

mixmastamyk 2y ago
Was this repealed or watered-down? "Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_Privacy_Protection_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_Privacy_Protection_...
- akira2501 2y ago
  No. You can still request and obtain the information. It's now a crime to use it unlawfully or to lie in order to obtain it, and California additionally added the feature that the requested party will be notified of the request, it doesn't really afford you any "immediate" protections. So, split that mailing address off, if you can.
prmoustache 2y ago
> In California I can just file a request on your license plate number for your public information. Bouncers can use any excuse to decide to let you in or not so I guess they can just say no, show me your ID/driver's license and you are fucked if you don't have one. They can even decide unilaterally to not look at your smartphone screen if you have it in google wallet, you have little recourse. What will you do, sue them because they let your friends in but you stayed outside?

lotsofpulp 2y ago

I know for a fact hotels (or motels) like to scan or copy IDs to be able to effectively bans, because the person working the front desk has no idea who is and isn’t banned, especially if a single hotel company owns or manages multiple hotels. If Hilton/marriott/IHG/choice/wyndham were not almost all franchised, then I bet they would institute global bans. I can’t imagine bars are any different.

crazygringo 2y ago

Really not sure what kind of tracking you think the establishment would be doing or why? Besides, like you say, banning people. But that's legitimate. And in terms of aggregating information, the credit card companies know who uses their cards there. ID's aren't adding anything useful. AFAIK scanning ID's really is entirely about catching fakes and banning people who have misbehaved.

9outof10 2y ago
I find this to be a naive point of view. My simple rule is that a system should be categorized for what it does most of the time. I bet that person working the front door has scanned thousands of IDs, and probably only found a handful of fakes, if any. So AFAIK, they are scanning IDs and collecting data, and every blue moon, a fake is found and it is then the entire system has found it's true purpose?
- crazygringo 2y ago
  A long time ago, I worked as a bartender. Rules for checking ID's were very strict. If cops showed up and ever found anyone under age, there were serious penalties. So yes, even if there's a fake only once every two weeks, or whatever you consider to be once in a "blue moon" -- that is the purpose of the system. Believe me, bars don't check ID's because they want to. They do it because the legal consequences are extremely serious otherwise, and "but the ID looked real to our bouncer" isn't a defense, hence the scanning. There's nothing naive. I think you just aren't familiar with the laws around this.

ogou 2y ago

FedEx requires a scan of the barcode on your license to ship packages from any of their locations. When it first started happening a few years ago, I argued with the clerks and said I didn't want my license scanned. I was willing to show my ID as proof of identity but I didn't want the barcode scan. It also reset the originating address to my home address each time, even though I was shipping for business and put the business address on the FedEx shipping form. They said it was required and the managers always confirmed. I stopped using FedEx for this reason. Never went back.