Central fingerprint register in doubt

Plans by the Dutch government to set up a national fingerprint data base may be in doubt now the European court says it will rule on the operation on Friday, the Volkskrant reported on Wednesday.


Privacy campaign organisation Vrijbit had asked the court to rule on the data base in principle.
On Monday, the Netherlands will begin including two fingerprints in all new passports. The fingerprints will be stored by local councils and later placed in a central data bank. The data bank will be used to make passport forgery more difficult but will also be used to indentify crime suspects.
The Dutch privacy watchdog CBP has criticised the plan, saying it has ‘serious consquences for a large number of citizens’ and warning of the risk of abuse.
The law was approved by parliament in June.

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