Fingerprinting by US Test Administrators Constitutes Privacy Risk for Canadian Students
The Common Law Section of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa is greatly worried by the use of personal information required for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), particularly that of thumbprinting.“We are very preoccupied by the implications of this practice for the privacy of our students whose information could be filed in FBI databases,” said the Acting Dean of the Common Law Section, Daniel Gervais.
The majority of Canadian universities, including the English program of the Common Law Section of the University of Ottawa, require that a candidate write the LSAT.
The exam, offered four times a year around the world at a set date, is managed by a non-profit corporation, the Law School Admission Council.
Once the test is done, it is sent back to the United States to be marked.
The adoption of the Patriot Act by the American Congress allows federal services, such as the FBI, to collect personal information without the knowledge of the people concerned, in the name of national security and the war against terrorism.
Under this Act, participating Canadians’ personal data could be seized and retrieved by American authorities.
Those concerns will be pursued by the British Columbia Information and Privacy Commissioner, who is leading an inquiry after a student’s complaint.
The Acting Dean of the Common Law Section is wondering about the worth of using the exam. “We have to clarify the situation and question the use of the LSAT as an admission tool unless safeguards are provided to protect the privacy of Canadian students.”
A committee will examine the situation and will recommend the appropriate measures.