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Policy · 15h ago

Gay Bars' ID Scanners Raise Privacy Red Flags in California

By Meridian48 News Desk · Summarised from EFF ·

PatronScan, an ID-checking system used in San Francisco's LGBTQ+ bars, photographs patrons and shares data across venues, raising privacy concerns. California law prohibits businesses from retaining scanned ID info except for limited purposes like age verification. The company claims compliance, but its database of over 561,000 scans in Sacramento alone suggests widespread data collection.

Meridian48 take
The story highlights a tension between safety and privacy in queer spaces, but PatronScan's data-sharing model may violate California's ID privacy law—a legal challenge worth watching.
Read the full reporting
Why Are Gay Bars Building Databases of Their Patrons? →
EFF
id-scanninglgbtq-privacy
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