Privacy Commissioner - Te Mana Matapono Matatapu

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Government use of biometric technologies

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Genome sequencing gets cheaper by the day
New Zealand Herald 12th August 2009
The falling cost of unlocking our unique genetic code may lead to improved prediction, diagnosis and treatment of illness and disability. It may also lead to some difficult ethical questions about medical treatment, health insurance and privacy.

New ID cards are supposed to be 'unforgeable' - but it took our expert 12 minutes to clone one, and programme it with false data
Daily Mail 6th August 2009
The new UK ID card for foreign nationals stores the holder's image, fingerprints and other personal information in an RFID chip. The Mail reports that there is a risk of theft of biometric and other information because criminals can clone or copy personal information from the card in order to steal or forge identities.

DNA database plans based on 'flawed science', warn experts
Guardian 19th July 2009
Experts have challenged the length of time the UK plans to retain people's DNA records in the National DNA Database. Six years is too long, experts state, because data about offenders and their rate of re-offending supports a much shorter retention period.

Fingerprint clock-in gets thumbs-down
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner Roderick Woo Bun has ordered employers not to use an employee's fingerprint biometric as proof of their identity when they clock-in to work.

Biometrics must increase, not challenge, our security
Public Service 10th July 2009
Privacy concerns are legitimate and must be addressed, the article states, if biometric applications are to prove themselves trustworthy and become accepted by the public.

Senate Democrats Address Immigration
Washington Post 25th June 2009
The US Senate plans to overhaul immigration law to tackle the registration of the US's estimated 12 million illegal workers. Despite likely civil liberties objections, the proposal may include the registration of all US workers by issuing each worker with an ID card that will contain biometrics such as fingerprints and iris scans.

EU considers centralised security data agency
COMPUTERWORLDUK 25th June 2009
Passport, visa and fingerprint data to be housed under one roof
The EU is proposing to link three huge trans national immigration databases, and add to them biometric data such as fingerprints and iris scans. The EU Justice Minister says it will simplify the running of these databases, and opponents fear that it will cause a ‘tsunami' of new digital personal information.

Biometric security wave of future
Edmonton Sun 9th June 2009
The Edmonton Sun reports that Canada's Immigration Minister believes that Canada trails behind Australia and the UK in the use of biometrics. The government plans to fingerprint all prospective temporary residents by 2013.

Privacy Commissioner calls for DNA database oversight
Computerworld 8th June 2009
Following a recent data breach, the Privacy Commissioner has called for independent oversight of the New Zealand DNA Databank.

Cancer patient held at airport for missing fingerprint
Reuters 27th May 2009
A patient being treated for cancer lost his fingerprints as a side effect of the treatment. The patient, who was travelling to Singapore, failed a biometric fingerprint security scan upon arrival at Singapore airport.

Centrelink goes biometric
AustralianIT 26th May 2009
The Australian government's welfare benefits agency, Centrelink, is changing how telephone customers prove who they are to call centre staff. The new system will use the customer's recorded biometric voiceprint to check the caller's identity.

Is the rise of the digital ID inevitable?
Independent 24th May 2009
Digital IDs are electronic devices that allow you to prove who you are, for example, a smart card that permits you to log into your bank account. When a digital ID uses a biometric to identify you, such as a fingerprint, there are specific worries about keeping this information safe.

Information and Privacy Commissioner has words of advice about new biometric entry system in Calgary
Alberta - Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner 8th May 2009
The Information Privacy Commissioner warns of the risks when agencies use biometric information such as fingerprints to identify people. 

Ministers keep innocent on DNA database
The Guardian 7th May 2009
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that it was illegal to keep indefinitely DNA samples taken from innocent people. UK Ministers now plan to retain this data for up to 12 years.

Biometrics to catch immigration frauds
Stuff 30th March 2009
Legislation permitting Immigration New Zealand (INZ) to collect biometric samples from immigrants has passed its second reading in Parliament. INZ will compare data such as fingerprints and facial biometrics with information held on a watch list of suspected immigration fraudsters.

Call to scrap 'illegal databases'
BBC 23rd March 2009
A report states that the UK national DNA database is ‘almost certainly' illegal because it fails to respect human or data protection rights.

CCTV cameras 'listen for trouble'
BBC 13th February 2009
CCTV cameras equipped with a directional microphone can analyse the voice print of people in the street. Vendors claim that the technology can detect if people are angry, and predict if they will be a risk to public order.

EU launches biometric passport by summer
ARMA International January 2009
Holders of new EU passports will have their fingerprints stored on the passport's smart chip. EU rules will exempt children under 12 from this condition.