WKMG-TV – 9/1/2006

For years, Walt Disney World in Florida has been reading the shape of visitors’ fingers on its property. Now the upgraded machines scan fingerprint information. The technology does not store the entire fingerprint image and scanned information is purged in 30 days.

“We are not collecting fingerprints,” a Disney representative said. “We are not collecting personal information…. The system takes an image, it identifies points on that image and measures the distance between those points and immediately creates a numerical value… [which is} … stored in our system and recalled when a guest reenters our turn-styles using their Magic Your Way tickets.”

The ACLU of Central Florida has objected. “They’re collecting fingerprints…” Its President said. “Everything that chips away at individual rights, anything that chips away at the right to privacy, I’ll be concerned about.” But Disney is NOT collecting fingerprints, and any guests who object may use photo ID instead. No one has objected. Furthermore, the ACLU admits that the finger scanners are not illegal.

Bottom line, the ACLU feels free to make false and frivolous objections (shall we say, “Mickey Mouse” objections?) whenever it thinks it can bully anyone into accepting the objection.