Kids can opt out of school fingerprinting

May I recommend Jon Baines' short blogpost pointing out that kids can opt out of school fingerprinting and/or biometrics collection whether the school or their parents like it or not. Jon succinctly draws attention to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

"The school

must ensure that a child’s biometric information is not processed unless—
(a)at least one parent of the child consents to the information being processed, and
(b)no parent of the child has withdrawn his or her consent, or otherwise objected, to the information being processed….
The relevant authority must ensure that reasonable alternative means are available by which the child may do, or be subject to, anything which the child would have been able to do, or be subject to, had the child’s biometric information been processed.

But also note (here’s the totally rad bit) that, even if your parents are OK with it, you have the right to object, and if you do, that trumps what your parents, and your school, think. Cool eh?

if, at any time, the child—
(a)refuses to participate in, or continue to participate in, anything that involves the processing of the child’s biometric information, or
(b)otherwise objects to the processing of that information,
the relevant authority must ensure that the information is not processed, irrespective of any consent given by a parent of the child"