UK’s Nightclub Scene: No Facebook ID, No Entry

Bouncers routinely check the IDs of party goers before they're allowed to step into the club so that they can keep the underaged ones out. They're apparently starting to get tired of getting duped with fake IDs, because they're now asking people to provide further proof by also showing their Facebook profile at the door.

This was revealed by BBC Newsbeat when several people wrote about it on the news program's Facebook wall.

One UK clubber, Charlotte Neal, talked about her experience and explained that the bouncer used her Facebook profile to confirm that her ID was legit.

I kind of just logged onto it [Facebook] and showed him the screen and then he didn’t question it any further. When it happened the first time I didn’t really think anything of it.

Then I thought, ‘Hang on, is this really how you’re supposed to check how old I am?’ But I was out and I wanted to get in the club so I just agreed.

-- Charlotte Neal, clubber from the UK

This is obviously unconventional, but it's not illegal. Regardless, the UK's privacy campaign group called Big Brother Watch disapproves of the practice, saying that it violated basic privacy and personal rights.

Not only is it ridiculous from a security point of view, it’s an affront to the basic rights of people to be able to live their lives in private. If the problem is that people haven’t got good enough quality IDs, then let’s make sure they do have good enough quality IDs. This shouldn’t be an excuse for nightclubs to snoop and pry into people’s private lives.

-- Big Brother Watch spokesperson

Article by Hazel Chua
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