Should retailers, bar owners, and other organisations be allowed to automatically identify you using facial recognition when you enter a building? Should they be able to record the identity of children and people who aren’t even their customers? Should they be able to build and sell databases of where you have been and who you associate with? 

Amazingly the Privacy Commissioner thinks that they should be able to, as revealed by the draft Biometric Code released today. While the Biometric Code imposes some useful limitations on the use of facial recognition technology, it also allows companies to deploy the technology after they perform a self-assessment. Of course self-assessments are self-serving and thus will allow the widespread use of facial recognition technology.

Thomas Beagle, NZCCL chairperson, “The Privacy Commissioner is failing to protect New Zealanders from the use of facial recognition technology to capture personal biometric information about people. You’ll be giving up your identity, just by walking past a camera, allowing you to be tracked everywhere you go.”

We believe biometric information is different from other data that companies collect about us. Biometric information such as your face can be captured remotely without your knowledge or consent. Facial recognition technology transforms video footage from images into data about individuals that can be collected, collated, and shared. It takes away the privacy of identity – the ability to be anonymous in public places. It also takes away the privacy of location – anyone with access to multiple cameras can use them to track our movements.

Rather than allowing the mass adoption of remote facial recognition, we should be following the Australian example where their Privacy Commissioner has defined biometric data as sensitive personal information that cannot be collected without explicit permission. 

Thomas Beagle, NZCCL chairperson, “We believe that Aotearoa New Zealand should follow the Australian example and ban the remote capture of biometric information. The Biometric Code will still be useful for people using biometrics for purposes such as logging into your phone, but it should ban the use of it for surveillance and if we have to modify the Privacy Act to enable this we should do so.”

Supporting material

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner media release: https://privacy.org.nz/publications/statements-media-releases/privacy-commissioner-announces-intent-to-issue-biometrics-code/

More information on the NZCCL position: https://nzccl.org.nz/facing-up-to-reality-new-zealand-is-failing-on-controlling-facial-recognition-technology/

The Australian OAIC decision on facial recognition: https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/media-centre/bunnings-breached-australians-privacy-with-facial-recognition-tool