Passport procedure sparks privacy fears

Getting a Dutch passport means submitting your fingerprints to the government. While the practice is EU policy, the Dutch are under scrutiny for pooling the prints in a central database. JOEP DERKSEN reports.

The Netherlands is being investigated by the European Commission over the country's passport procedures. Currently, the Dutch government requires four fingerprints from people who apply for a new passport. These fingerprints are collected and saved in a central database. Great concerns have risen over the danger for privacy invasion this may cause, with individuals as well as city councils throughout the country trying to persuade government to do away with the central storage procedure.

Although it is obligatory for European countries to add fingerprints to passports and ID-cards, storing them in a central database is questionable. Several city councils have criticised the practice, including Amersfoort, Oldenzaal, Nijmegen and Amsterdam. On 10 March, the city council of Utrecht accepted an official motion asking the government to stop storing biometric information.

Individuals are also fighting the procedure for the sake of their privacy, amongst them are Louise van Luijk (26) and student Aaron Boudewijn (24). “I have no problems that they put my fingerprints in my passport, but I don’t want these to be stored in a database,” says Boudewijn. If he cannot make his case in a Utrecht court, he plans to take his concerns to the European Court for Human Rights. Currently, Boudewijn only possesses an ID-card with which he cannot travel outside of Europe.

Worries

Van Luijk has expressed other worries in a separate court case. The French company managing the central database could sell her private data to other parties, she says. In addition, she argues the storage of fingerprints is not required by the European law.
Despite her claims, on 23 March a court ruled that the city of The Hague can legally refuse a passport to Van Luijk if she refuses fingerprinting.

The judge dismissed her claim that the storage of fingerprints would be a violation of privacy and human rights, ruling that the procedure is in accordance to the law. Organisations like the College Bescherming Persoonsgegevens (Foundation Privacy First, CBP) have also voiced worries about the storage of fingerprints. They claim that the central database is in effect a national tracking register. “It is a severe breach of personal living circumstances since data from non-suspects will also be stored.” Biometric data will not be without failures, says the CBP, as individual citizens can hardly check whether information in the database is correct. Furthermore, the foundation claims that storing fingerprints is in contradiction to privacy laws and has expressed concern that the fingerprints will be used to fight crime and acts of terrorism.

Court

The CBP has taken their issues to court, asking the justice system to cease the storage of fingerprints from citizens needing a new passport. A judge dismissed the suit, but the organisation has filed an appeal. They find one member of European Parliament on their side: Sophie in ‘t Veld (D66). “Currently, fingerprints from innocent Dutch citizens are stored. With this action, the Dutch government treats its inhabitants as potential criminals,” she says. The Netherlands is much more active with regard to storage than other European member states. The government requires four fingerprints which are stored in a database at city hall. After that, the fingerprints are transferred to a central database. In ‘t Veld has persuaded Vice President of the European Commissioner Viviane Reding, responsible for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, to investigate whether the Dutch law is in contradiction to European laws regarding the protection of information. The United Nations Human Rights Committee is also rumoured to be critical of the possible negative effects the policy has on privacy.

Nevertheless, against all odds the opponents to the storage of fingerprints scored a major victory on 27 April. Minister Piet Hein Donner announced that the storage of fingerprints will be halted for the time being. He gave in to pressure from the Parliament over concerns regarding the safety and trustworthyness of a large databank where fingerprints are stored. Hoever, fingerprints will continue to be stored on a chip in the passport itself.

Elderly

Meanwhile, the mere act of fingerprinting elderly citizens is causing problems. As people age, it becomes more difficult to make adequate fingerprints for a passport. Statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs show that 1,364 people aged 65 or above are unable to provide a viable fingerprint. This is more than three percent of the total passport applicants in this age range.

Among people over 85, 16.8 percent could not provide fingerprints. In comparison, only 0.13 percent of people under 65-years-old had problems providing solid fingerprints. Those who cannot give any fingerprints at all are eligible for a unique travel document - the passport states that the user has a “permanent defect.”

Published in "The Holland Times".