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Biometric Testing for Workers on London Olympics Building Site
Posted by Addy Dugdale at 10:53 PM on March 5, 2008
Over 100,000 construction workers on the 2012 Olympics venue in London will be subjected to biometric tests while they build the site. The two-tier system will scan hands and faces, and should be up and running by June this year, when work starts on the 50-acre site. And these measures, part of the $700 million security budget, will not just be for the building contractors, either.
Plans are also afoot to include biometric testing on the spectators when the games start, in the Summer of 2012—an estimated nine million people. The Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, John Armitt, claims that the system will be as easy as travelling on public transport (London-based readers will know, to quote esteemed philosophers Duran Duran, it's about as easy as a nuclear war.) "The gates will be like the Jubilee Line," he has been quoted as saying. "Put your hand down and it will open."
The biometric system is not the only hi-tech addition to the games' security. The policeman in charge of the games has gone on record as saying that London will need an additional half a million CCTV cameras to be put in place before the site opens for business. Yet again, the small matter of civil liberties is being brought into question.
While the head of Britain's main construction union, Ucatt, claims that he is fan-goo with the security system, "providing the ODA guarantee that the biometric data will not be passed on to any third parties and will be wiped once the project is complete," the ODA has not guaranteed that it will not pass on any information to government agencies.
How much of a logistical and planning nightmare this will be remains to be seen but, given the UK's success when it comes to building big things—the Millennium Dome, and Wembley for example—there is a strong possibility that we will be seeing the Olympic flame being lit at an opening ceremony some time in 2019. [Times Online]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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barfoo
Posted 12:43 AM 6/3/08
Not really "testing" but identification. The workers aren't being assessed by this system, just ID'ed.
barfoo
vagrant
Posted 12:43 AM 6/3/08
@mariogalaxyman: Yes, you purchase tickets for the specific event(s) you want to attend. The prices vary based on the popularity of the event too.
vagrant
SnowLeopard
Posted 12:43 AM 6/3/08
Ahh, that last line cracked me up! So true.
"Wembley for example&mdash, there is a strong possibility"
Spelling mistake tho :)
SnowLeopard
mariogalaxyman
Posted 12:43 AM 6/3/08
How do you attend the Olympics? Do you buy tickets?
mariogalaxyman
Geisrud
Posted 1:50 AM 6/3/08
@Amen-Ra: I rather like London's public transport as well.
I'm curious your thoughts on the Tube vs the Metro in Paris?
Geisrud
Amen-Ra
Posted 1:50 AM 6/3/08
How is London transport as easy as nuclear war? I live in London and it has, by far, the BEST public transit system of any metropolis in the world. The Londoners complain about it, but have never set foot on any American transit system (NY, SF, LA--oh wait, it doesn't even have one that's useful).
Amen-Ra
WD40
Posted 3:01 AM 6/3/08
That sounds like a state prison, not the building for the Olympics.
Instead take that money and help all these countries that could use that money for something good, like laptops for kids to browse pr0n and such...
WD40
uberfu
Posted 3:01 AM 6/3/08
@mariogalaxyman: You go into a TicketMaaster Location - pay them money - they do a full body scan - fingerprints - eyeballs - head to toe_ That info is now in a super-large database that is connected up at the Olympics in London in 4 years_ Then when you get there all you have to do is walk thru a scanner - probably some sort of short tunnel and if your Bio Info matches what's in the database - then you're good to go_
If however - your Bio Info does not match - a trap door opens and you fall thru it and are never seen or heard from again_ As you were caught illegally trying to sneak into the Olympics_ Think Gattaca [so yes - there might also be ways to beat the system]_
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Short answer - I don't know_
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What these biometric advocates fail to understand is that once a fingerprint is digitized it can be copied hacked and altered just like any other computer data_ Which by the by is much easier than a hard copy ID or Specialized Entry Ticket_ All they have to do with the Tickets - since so much money is being spent already - is to make them as anti-forgeable as Currency_ Build measures into the Tickets to prevent fraud and then hold the physical Tickets and release them as late as possible - so counterfeiters don't have enough time to copy them_
I personally am not fond of having to identify myself to go watch a track and field match by means of finger-printing or a retinal scan_ I have eye problems as it is and I sure as hell don't need some laser hitting my eyes and potenially causing any number of additional issues - short or long term_
If nothing else it would be a good lawsuit_ Sue some company that made retinal scanners for the Olymics in London claiming eye damage or vision impairment from the laser_
uberfu
jetexas
Posted 3:01 AM 6/3/08
I really don't think this is a security issue. To me it sounds like British Intelligence is just taking advantage of the opportunity to biometrically ID as many people as possible when they come to town for the event.
jetexas
ANoel
Posted 4:15 AM 6/3/08
It's posts like this that sometimes make me think we're all really really fucked.
ANoel
Tylas
Posted 4:15 AM 6/3/08
Isn't this how Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles ended? They build a huge "see and feel everywhere" central nervous system for Skynet. Judgement Day is near! Thanks Britain...
Tylas
reddingofish
Posted 7:59 AM 6/3/08
Where is the parking, I don't see any parking!!!
reddingofish