Mass Surveillance - privacy (DE)

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1 Context
2 Registration of populations
- 2.1 Identification of people using biometric (fingerprints and facial images...) data
3 External links

Context

Since Septembre 11, 2001 important measures have been taken by several governements, principally the Bush administration, in order to fight terrorism. Many measures have been taken at european level or by member states.

Those measures are mainly based on the assumption that :

we have to sacrifice some of our freedoms for greater security
if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about
technology is objective and reliable

The result is a growing network of mass surveillance and an erosion of democratic rights mainly in the fields of privacy, criminal law, freedom of speech and freedom of association.

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Registration of populations

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Identification of people using biometric (fingerprints and facial images...) data

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Single identification number

If someone wants to link different databases in order to access information about a person or an organisation, he needs to have a single identification number (SIN). The use of such a number is highly controversial. Some member states (currently still) do not have it (Greece, Hungary, Portugal, UK). Some have specific SINs for different sectors (Austria, Germany, Ireland). Others have a global SIN like Belgium, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Sweden).

There is an increasing pressure from public and private bodies to have a uniform european SIN for citizens and businesses. Public opinion in some countries is still quite opposed to that idea. The use of SIN in combination with biometrics opens the door to global mass surveillance.

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Visas and third countries residents

A first step was the agreement at european level that finger-printing of visitors requesting a visa would be mandatory. A central visa information system is created. All third country nationals who are resident in the EU will be finger-printed too.

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Official texts

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Comments

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Biometric passports

The U.S.A. have mandated the ICAO to define technical specifications for passports. Those specifications adopted in 2004 make facial recognition mandatory and fingerprints and iris scans optional. Facial recognition should be understood as facial image or the digitisation of current passport photos : it is not a biometric. Facial recognition could also refer to facial scan which is a biometric. The difference is important : a facial image only allows one-to-one recognition by border officials whereas a biometric allows one-to-many recognition (i.e. use of a database).

The US will not introduce passports using biometrics on the contrary the EU will take everyone's fingerprint. Many people think those european measures are taken because of US post-9/11 guidelines : this is obviously not true.

By doing this, every movement will be tracked and a large scale european fingerprint database will be set-up.

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Official text

Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States

Article 6 : "The Commission should be assisted by the Committee established by Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format for visas" : this committee thus expanded its work from visa to passports and to ID cards.

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Comments

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Biometric ID cards

After the visa, the third countries residents and the passports, the UK presidency wants now to have all ID cards with fingerprints. If this happens, everyone living or travelling in the EU will be fingerprinted.

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