Loro Parque fined €250,000 for forcing some guests to provide their fingerprints.

The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has rejected the appeal of the company that manages the Loro Parque zoo in Tenerife, forcing it to pay a fine of 250,000 euros for committing a "very serious" breach in protecting its customers' data after forcing them to provide their fingerprints.

According to the AEPD resolution , "visitors were forced to provide their fingerprints using a reader to verify that the person entering both parks was the same person ," something strictly prohibited under the regulations. Furthermore, those affected also stated that at no point were they informed that their data would be processed in this way.

For its part, Loro Parque claimed that this treatment is only carried out "on visitors who have a series of tickets," and that the images of their fingerprints are not retained, but are read at that moment and later deleted.

Another of the complainants reports that when he refused to register his fingerprint , he was denied entry to the premises and, without being given any other option, was advised to request a refund. And in accordance with company policy, customers only have 15 days to claim their money before losing their right to a refund.

The AEPD reminds us that the use of biometric data can pose "significant risks to fundamental rights and freedoms , and therefore its use is initially prohibited." While there are certainly exceptions, leisure activities are not included, nor is it permitted to impose them unilaterally.

Authorities point out that these checks are simply cross-referencing the ticket purchase references with the associated QR code to identify visitors. The company justifies this method by stating that this method provides a high level of certainty in verifying that the person entering is indeed the person who entered the park.

In this increasingly digital world, the recording of our biometric data must be limited to very specific situations where we have control and agree to use it. Our fingerprint, face, iris, or any other biometric identification method is and will be the key to accessing more and more things in the future, and we can't just give it away at the drop of a hat.