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A faculty has been reprimanded by the information safety regulator after utilizing facial recognition know-how (FRT) to take cashless canteen funds from pupils.
The Info Commissioner’s Workplace (ICO) mentioned Chelmer Valley Excessive Faculty, in Chelmsford, Essex, broke the regulation when it “failed” to finish an information safety affect evaluation (DPIA) earlier than beginning to use the know-how.
The secondary college, which has round 1,200 pupils aged 11-18, had not correctly obtained clear permission to course of the youngsters’s biometric knowledge and college students have been unable to “train their rights and freedoms”.
In March final 12 months, the varsity started utilizing the know-how to take cashless canteen funds, earlier than an evaluation was product of the dangers to the youngsters’s data.
Lynne Currie, head of privateness innovation on the ICO, mentioned: “Dealing with folks’s data accurately in a faculty canteen setting is as necessary because the dealing with of the meals itself.
“We count on all organisations to hold out the mandatory assessments when deploying a brand new know-how to mitigate any knowledge safety dangers and guarantee their compliance with knowledge safety legal guidelines.
“We’ve taken motion in opposition to this college to indicate introducing measures resembling FRT shouldn’t be taken calmly, significantly when it includes kids.
“We don’t need this to discourage different faculties from embracing new applied sciences. However this should be achieved accurately with knowledge safety on the forefront, championing belief, defending kids’s privateness and safeguarding their rights.”
The reprimand comes after the ICO informed North Ayrshire Council final 12 months that its use of FRT to take canteen funds in 9 faculties was “doubtless” to have infringed knowledge safety regulation.
Considerations have been raised when FRT was launched in North Ayrshire faculties in 2021 as a part of a alternative of its current cashless catering system.
The information watchdog additionally discovered that Chelmer Valley Excessive Faculty failed to hunt opinions from its knowledge safety officer, or seek the advice of with dad and mom and college students, earlier than implementing the know-how.
In March final 12 months, a letter was despatched to oldsters with a slip for them to return if they didn’t need their little one to take part in FRT, the ICO mentioned.
Till November final 12 months, the ICO warned that the varsity had been wrongly counting on “assumed consent” for facial recognition – besides the place dad and mom or carers had opted kids out of the system.
The information safety regulator additionally famous that the majority college students would have been sufficiently old to offer their very own consent, so the parental opt-out disadvantaged college students of the flexibility to train their rights.
The reprimand mentioned: “Chelmer Valley Excessive Faculty has due to this fact failed to finish a DPIA the place they have been legally required to take action.
“This failing meant that no prior evaluation was product of the dangers to knowledge topics, no consideration was given to lawfully managing consent, and college students on the college have been then left unable to correctly train their rights and freedoms.”
The varsity offered a DPIA to the information watchdog in January this 12 months, and it begun acquiring express opt-in consent from college students in November final 12 months.
Ms Currie added: “A DPIA is required by regulation – it’s not a tick-box train.
“It’s an important instrument that protects the rights of customers, supplies accountability and encourages organisations to consider knowledge safety at first of a venture.”
A spokesperson for Chelmer Valley Excessive Faculty mentioned: “We settle for the report’s suggestions and took motion final 12 months to make sure correct consent is gained when college students use the cashless canteen. This contains having the selection to choose in or out as desired.”
