JERUSALEM – August 3, 2008 – The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) condemned the establishment of a biometric database which would contain the fingerprints and facial features of all residents and citizens of Israel.
The establishment of such a database was authorized by the Cabinet today and will be submitted to the Knesset plenum for voting in the coming months.
The Interior Ministry, which initiated the bill, claimed that such a database is 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.
“The establishment of a database containing such sensitive data about individuals sets a dangerous precedent and constitutes a massive breach of privacy,” according to ACRI Attorney Avner Pinchuk. “In approving the bill, the Cabinet has crossed a red line, which could give the State access to more and more personal data as the technology develops and as various players find more uses for the database and the information within it.”
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.
ACRI calls on Knesset members to vote against the establishment of the biometric database in order to thwart this dangerous precedent and preserve the right to privacy of all members of Israeli society.
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.
Despite the Interior Ministry’s support of the draft bill, ministry representatives have admitted that a biometric database is not essential to preventing the forgery of identity cards.
