Jurisprudence
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Recommended reading: privacy and biometrics
The OECD working party on information security and privacy have published a very informative but dry report about biometrics. The report analyses theory and practice of the following major biometric-based technologies: finger-scanning, hand geometry, facial recognition, iris scanning, retinal scanning, finger geometry, voice recognition and dynamic signature verification. A brief description of other, more obscure […]
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EU Commission wants to RFID everything
EU COMMISSION WANTS TO RFID EVERYTHING The European Commission considers it to be part of the Lisbon Strategy – and therefore a top priority – ‘to have smart dust and tag everything’ with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The point was made by Rosalie Zobel, Director of the Information Society Technologies (IST) programme at the Commission, […]
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NGOs call for halt to biometric passports
Over forty non-governmental organisations from around the world signed an open letter to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on 30 March 2004. Privacy International (an EDRI member) and the American Civil Liberties Union wrote the letter calling on the ICAO to reconsider its standards-setting on biometric travel documents. The ICAO proposes that all passports […]
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Recommended reading: Genetic data
The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party has adopted a working document on genetic data. The technical progress which science has made over recent years in the field of genetic research has given rise to new data protection questions and concerns in relation to the significance and impact of genetic tests and the processing of […]
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New EU-plans to promote broadband access
The European Telecom ministers have welcomed new action plans from the Commission to promote broadband access in Europe. The Commission calls on Member States who have not yet put in place a national broadband strategy to do so without delay, with a focus on delivering broadband in under-served areas via a variety of platforms. This […]
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EU Commission proposal for biometrics in passports
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Council Regulation that will set legally binding minimum standards for harmonised security features, including biometric identifiers, in all EU passports. The Commission chooses facial images as a mandatory biometric identifier for passports. Fingerprints can be added as an option at the discretion of Member States. The […]
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Major European companies into RFID-development
The European commercial interest in the development of spy-chips (RFIDs) is growing rapidly. Radio Frequency Identifiers are very small wireless chips that can be read without touching them. Intel and Siemens have just announced they will open an ‘RFID Technology Centre’ in Germany in March, near Munich. The companies wish to present ‘experience-able RFID-technology’, to […]
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EU to promote research track & trace technology
According to a new Communication on the research into security, the European Commission plans to fund research on “tagging, tracking and tracing devices … that improve the capability to locate, identify and follow the movement of mobile assets, goods and persons”. The Commission announces the launch of a new funding program entitled ‘Enhancement of the […]
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Spy-chips discovered in German loyalty cards
After a tour in the Future Store of the German Metro concern, privacy advocate Katherine Albrecht discovered spy-chips with unique numbers in the customer loyalty cards. She also found RFID tags on products sold in the store that were not completely de-activated after the purchase. Albrecht, founder of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and […]
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Dutch parliament questions crypto telephone
The presentation of a crypto mobile telephone has stirred some controversy in the Netherlands. The Cryptophone has been developed in the Netherlands and is sold through a German company. The device is a combined GSM and organiser running Windows Pocket PC. The software encrypts the call when connecting to another Cryptophone. The Cryptophone should make […]
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Irish Labour Party wants to stop e-voting
The Irish Labour Party is urging suspension of e-voting until major flaws are fixed. Ireland is planning to completely changeover to electronic voting in June 2004, for both local and European elections. According to a report commissioned by the party the major defects are: – An integrated end-to-end test of the entire system has not […]
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Belgium introduces electronic passport
Ignoring criticism from the national privacy authority, Belgian parliament approved of the introduction of an electronic passport. The new chipcard will be tested in 11 municipalities. If the pilot succeeds, all inhabitants of Belgium will have an electronic ID within 5 years. The new credit-card sized passport shows regular data like name, date of birth […]
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