NEW IMMIGRATION LAW | Gov’t reaffirms the need to collect triple biometrical data

The government has reaffirmed the need to collect three different types of biometrical data for border control. The measure, based upon the new immigration law and currently undergoing an analysis by the Third Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL), is justified due to the changes that can occur to the face and fingerprints. The committee added that enforcing a retinal scan and an iris recognition system can safeguard the public interests and security.
According to lawmaker and chairman of the Third Standing Committee, Vong Hin Fai, this was the explanation given by the security authorities during yesterday’s meeting at the AL, where Wong Sio Chak, Secretary for Security, was to respond to a list of questions by committee members regarding the bill.
The topic follows the inclusion of Article 16 of the Second Chapter in the bill, which is dedicated to the border control movement. The article notes that besides fingerprints, hand prints and facial recognition, retinal scans or iris recognition will be also enforced.
“The government justifies [this inclusion] with changes that can occur to the face and to hand and finger prints, and that by adding this third category, it contributes to safeguarding public interests and public security since [iris and retina] cannot be [modified],” Vong said when questioned on the topic by the media.
The chairman also noted that the government has presented a detailed list of the countries and regions that also use these methods, although noting that the use of iris and retina recognition is not as common as the use of fingerprints and facial recognition.
“Still, we saw places like Singapore are already using the retina and iris [as ways] to ensure the identity of a person,” Vong said.
The committee members also raised further questions as none of the bill’s legal provisions clearly states how long the biometric data will be stored.
Replying to one such question, the government explained that this matter will be regulated through an administrative guideline that will be produced at a later stage. As a general rule, information on all kinds of personal data is usually kept for a maximum of five years, Vong said. He remarked that there is an apparent intent from the government to create a regime of exception that allows them to keep data for over five years in “some particular cases,” but he did not mention the situations in which this occurs.
In the future, Vong also expects that the sharing of the biometric data between several governmental departments or bureaus will increase so as to facilitate certain procedures, explaining that it “is the sharing of the fingerprint data among services that allow us to use the automatic border passages.”
At the start of the press briefing after the committee’s meeting, the chairman also noted that the analysis of this bill is going at a good pace and the aim, as previously mentioned, is to have it finally approved at the plenary before September this year.
Ensuring that the focus remains on this goal , the meeting held yesterday morning was also attended by AL’s vice president Chui Sai Cheong.