My understanding of the "need" for biometric identifiers
in passports and other "identity documents" was that they
could reliable identify the document holder. It looks like
mistakes can be made with the existing systems, which could
lead to individuals being wrongfully detained, and possibly
subject to varying penalties for failing identity checks.

Solution: a global agency to set standards, & monitor and
control the distribution of biometric data. Hmm... who or
what body would be in a position to oversee biometric data,
and how much control would it have over the individuals so
identified? Why can't the "experts" find a way of solving
any problems with biometrics without the need for a "big
brother" global agency?

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Experts call for global biometrics agency

By Tom Espiner, ZDNet UK

The increasing use of biometrics at national borders has prompted
calls for an agency to guarantee a common experience for travellers.

Biometrics experts have called for an international standards agency
to monitor deployments of the technology to ensure that it is deployed
as efficiently as possible across multiple countries.

Speaking at the Biometrics 2005 conference in London on Thursday,
Julian Ashbourn, chairman of the International Biometric Foundation,
said an "equivalence of process" would mean that travellers would
experience the same types of procedures when entering different
countries.

"How equivalent is the data policy across countries? We need a global
agency to guarantee equivalence of process between countries,"
Ashbourn said.

Ashbourn went on to argue that international cooperation on biometrics
could reduce processing times and cut down the chances of mistakes
being made and individuals being wrongfully detained.

Common processes would make it easier for different countries
deploying similar biometric systems to share information; a global
agency would then be able to monitor and control how, and with who,
countries were able to distribute biometric data.

"What information do governments share? With whom is my data shared
and why?" All of these questions need to be addressed by an agency
with global powers, according to Ashbourn.

There is also the danger that international travellers going to
countries with different political regimes may be subject to varying
penalties for failing a primary biometric identity check, warned
Ashbourn.

"If I fail border biometric identity checks, am I going to be gently
questioned, or handcuffed and stuffed in a cell for 72 hours?" he
said.

Also speaking at the three-day conference was Robert Mocny, deputy
director of the US-VISIT program, US Department of Homeland Security.
He agreed with Ashbourn's calls for an international body to monitor
biometric usage.

"Currently there is no body, but you'll see shortly there will be
one," he said. "The EU is going to start using biometric passports,
and other countries will follow. That needs coordinating."

US border authorities already use biometric identification techniques
in the form of fingerprint scans. Biometric data in the US is collated
in decentralised databases.

"We're starting the process of biometrifying a good proportion of the
world population," explained Mocny.

ZDNet UK's Tom Espiner reported from London.

Copyright (c) 2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Cheers, Steve..

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