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Comment by js2 | Hacker News Reader

> Pretty much if you're a US citizen they already have your fingerprints.

False. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-app...

My spouse and I renewed our passports in the last 10 years, and got our kids passports for the first time. We did not provide fingerprints.

I am a U.S. citizen. I went through an SF86 clearance in the early 2000s and don't recall even that requiring my fingerprints (but I could be wrong about that). I only recall giving up my fingerprints twice:

1. To unlock my Apple devices, safely locked in a secure enclave. 2. For TSA Pre.

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There are multiple clearances with different requirements, so it is possible that certain types require finger prints while others do not. However, AFAIK everybody who gets a clearance also has their fingerprints taken. The finger prints may not be available to regular LEO for dragnets to reduce the chance of leaking out the personal information of every cleared individual to foreign agents that have infiltrated law enforcement.

> However, AFAIK everybody who gets a clearance also has their fingerprints taken.

Ah, you’re right. I just found some correspondence related to the clearance and I did indeed provide fingerprints. The company I was working for at the time apparently was working with the NSA. I have almost no recollection of this. Maybe the MIB wiped my mind.

> finger prints may not be available to regular LEO for dragnets to reduce the chance of leaking out the personal information of every cleared individual to foreign agents that have infiltrated law enforcement.

I don’t know how far back this leak went, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my info was part of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Personnel_Management...

I distinctly remember getting fingerprinted for my clearance paperwork. And those that get TS/SCI have to get polygraph test every couple years.

You didn't have to give your fingerprints when you got a driver's license?

Where on earth would people accept such an encroachment on their privacy and right to unreasonable search and seizure just to obtain proof they have passed an examination? Soviet Russia? The DDR? Orwell's Oceania?

It isn't just proof you passed an exam -- it's also your ID card. The fingerprints are part of your government ID. Here in California you have to give a thumbprint or fingerprint to get both a license and a state issued ID card. The license serves as both proof of passing and as an ID so you don't need two cards.

Here in California everyone who has a driver's license had to have a fingerprint/thumbprint taken.

No, never. I’ve had licenses in FL, GA, NC and CA.

They for sure took your fingerprints in California. It's required to get a license.

Search this for fingerprint: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/california-driver-handboo...

You may just not remember because it's electronic.

And it was 20 years ago...

I got my license in California in 1993 and it was required then too. I remember because we made fun of how the driver handbook said, "you must provide your thumbprint, or your fingerprint if you have no thumbs".

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