JERUSALEM – November 17, 2009 – The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) applauds Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to delay voting on the Biometric Database Bill for two years.
The proposed database would contain the fingerprints and facial features of all residents and citizens of Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu impeded the vote in the Knesset on Monday, November 16, after it was widely expected to pass.
The postponement reflects the overwhelming success of a massive coalition effort led by ACRI and other civil society actors to preserve their right to privacy. ACRI commends the efforts of thousands of determined activists, bloggers, scientists, and lawyers in Israel who joined together and rallied in defense of their rights – in the streets, online, in the media, and in the Knesset
A voluntary biometric data bank will be established during the interim period, which will enable citizens applying for Israeli identification cards or passports to submit their information to the database. ACRI Attorney Avner Pinchuk expects that few Israeli citizens will voluntarily submit their fingerprints to the pilot program, and thus ACRI hopes that yesterday’s decision will effectively constitute the cancellation of the initiative.
“Human rights and democracy are inextricably elements of the rule of law,” said Pinchuk. “Countries that adhere to those values cannot implement a biometric database that would allow the government to invade the privacy of its citizens at such a level.”
The Interior Ministry, which initiated the bill, claimed that such a database would be essential for the production of biometric passport and “smart” identity cards; in addition, representatives of the Ministry claim that biometric information prevents the forgery of identity cards.
Yet, ACRI claims that the biometric database would make it easier for criminal elements to commit identity theft because intimate personal data about individuals will be concentrated in one location. Once criminals gain access to biometric information, the damage caused to victims could be extremely harmful and irreversible.
Such a massive and detailed personal database is characteristic of totalitarian regimes such as Pakistan and Kuwait; even in countries such as Germany which have instituted biometric identification cards, this type of invasive database does not exist.
