Fact Finders: Concerns about clerks scanning your driver’s license

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - If you’ve visited a store lately to buy alcohol or tobacco, there’s a good chance the clerk wanted to scan your driver’s license. One of our viewers wants to know, “Are private companies keeping my information from the state of Missouri on file?”

The state launched an app last April. It’s called Show-Me Id. The app verifies the authenticity of IDs simply by scanning a driver’s license with a mobile phone’s camera. The app is for restaurants, retailers, or bars that sell alcohol or tobacco. The state says this app does not store the info from the IDs it scans.

“It’s there to kind of spot fake ids, you got to remember that the people who are selling alcohol that they’re selling or tobacco products are doing so in a pretty regulated market. They’re doing so, you know, at the will of the state. And so the state tells them, hey, guys, you need to use some sort of point of sale software, if you want to keep selling tobacco or alcohol. Most of them are going to do it because they want to keep their liquor license,” explained Grant Rahmeyer of Rah Law.

Meantime, Kum & Go tells us it uses an age verification program called Retail Access Control Standards or RACS. That system requires clerks to scan IDs for any alcohol or tobacco product sales. Kum & Go also says- customer data is not being retained and the data is not kept anywhere on our system.

Kum & Go spokesperson Emily Hecker did add this additional note, “Kum & Go has introduced a new service this year for responsible promotions and discounts for tobacco and alcohol through our &Rewards mobile app. Customers can age verify in the app and then have access to personalized offers for their favorite age-verified products. In this case, we store that age verified status for ease of future access to the coupons and discounts.”

The state of Missouri emphasized, “By preventing underage purchases of alcohol, we can potentially save lives not only of our youth but also other users of Missouri’s roadways.”

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As for the viewer’s question, “Are private companies keeping my information from the state of Missouri on file?”

Based on what we’re told right now and what we know the information on your purchases and from your driver’s license is not being stored in the state system or the one used by Kum & Go. So, the answer is NO.

If we learn that has changed, we will let you know.

If you have something you want us to investigate, email us at factfinders@ky3.com.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com

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