Yes, feel the peace of mind

A blogger in the San Francisco area researches and negotiates the purchase of a new car, and is then brought to a screeching halt by their request for a fingerprint to seal the deal. What on earth?! Nothing that they said in answer to questions about either how the data would be handled or what sort of crime this system might prevent were in any way convincing.

I already use my fingerprint to unlock my laptop computer. In five years I may be using it to unlock my front door, or access my medical records. Last month, my personal data was stolen during the big UCLA database break-in. So, if this thumbprint thing is really my last remaining way to prove my identity, well, pardon me for not trusting your sales force with it.

Amen. Our times are getting crazier and crazier, and the willingness of folks to give in to this sort of thing (and see more here) is only raising the threshold of privacy protection for the rest of us.

(via boing boing)