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Invisible dots left by printers 'breach privacy'
By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Last Updated: 1:51am GMT 19/02/2008

European Union justice watchdogs are concerned that "Big Brother" computer printer technology that allows security agencies to track printed documents might breach privacy laws.

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Joining the dots
Most consumers are unaware that many popular colour laser printers, including those made by Brother, Cannon, Xerox and HP, embed almost invisible tracking dots onto documents, uniquely identifying the machine that printed them.

Franco Frattini, European Commissioner for Justice and Security, has launched an investigation after receiving official complaints from Euro-MPs.

"To the extent that individuals may be identified through material printed or copied using certain equipment, such processing may give rise to the violation of fundamental human rights, namely the right to privacy and private life," he said.

"It also might violate the right to protection of personal data."

Satu Hari, a Finnish Euro-MP, has taken up the issue of "forensic tracking mechanisms" after consumers "unsuccessfully asked manufacturers to disable this function".

She has highlighted research by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) finding that technology originally designed to prevent currency counterfeiting might end up as catch-all tool for general surveillance.

Danny O'Brien, a spokesman for the EFF, an organisation that defends "digital rights", believes the technology could be used by authoritarian regimes, such as the Chinese, to repress dissent.

"If you widen this out to authoritarian regimes, this becomes a far more pernicious threat," he told The Register.

"If you're running off some leaflets that the Chinese government doesn't like the look of, the fact that they can trace you to a particular suburb or printer shop is a far more damaging result."

Most consumers are unaware that many popular colour laser printers, including those made by Brother, Cannon, Xerox and HP, embed almost invisible tracking dots onto documents, uniquely identifying the machine that printed them.