Secret Printer ID Codes May Be Illegal In the EU

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "In response to a query from a member of the EU Parliament, an EU commissioner issued an official statement (.DOC) saying that, while they do not violate any laws, secret printer tracking dot codes may violate the human right to privacy guaranteed by the EU's Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. If you don't remember what these are, Slashdot has discussed the issue before. In short, most color printers print small yellow dots on every sheet in a code that identifies the printer and, potentially, its owner. The EFF is running an awareness campaign, and a couple of years back made a start on deciphering the yellow dot code."

Comments

Rather have safety than that degree of privacy.

[GarryFre]

If this breaks privacy laws than so do licence plates. How would you feel if you started finding threatening notes on your car and around your home and the perp could not be caught because of privacy laws and you suffered great harm? How would you feel if they caught the perp when that first note showed up? Freedom is fine, but not when it becomes freedom to harm others with impunity. I would rather not sacrifice my safety on the altar of privacy.