The British government has advised that schools will not be able to use students’ biometric data unless parents consent, reports politics.co.uk.

The government’s advice, released on Tuesday for consultation, was updated to include items from the newly enacted Freedoms Act 2012. This new advice will take effect in September 2013.

EMVCo, the EMV standards body jointly owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa, will host its fourth annual EMV User Meeting on June 20 - June 21 at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown in Toronto, Canada.

The April meeting of the influential Government Smart Card Interagency Advisory Board (IAB) was recently held in Washington D.C. FIPS201.com was on hand to cover the event and has provided, as a service to the IAB and the smart card community, an audio recording of the presentations. Click on the link below to access a list of audio and accompanying PowerPoint slides (in pdf format).

The U.S. Army has decided to extend it smart card pilot program for Army spouses and retirees. The pilot, which began in October 2011, now runs through September.