Biometrics and Masking UP

national | eu | opinion/analysis

Thursday June 17, 2004 17:52

by biomatrix

EU summit on Biometrics June 14-15 2004

A question often debated by activists is whether or not to ‘mask up’. It seems the main argument against ‘masking up’ is accountability. People feel that they have a right to protest and thus have nothing to hide. Which is fair enough, but people who have been on protests on this island recently will be only too familiar with the sight of a uniformed garda filming from the side-lines. This increase in garda surveillance makes one feel uneasy, but even more so in light of the recent EU summit on Biometrics. It was held in Dublin on Monday and Tuesday (June 14 and 15).

Biometrics the statistical study of biological phenomena, but lately it is more associated with the science of identity. And the technology that accompanies it is state of the art. No longer smudgy black ink fingerprints taken in an overcrowded stuffy room in the passport office. This is now simply pressing an index finger ever-so-lightly on a scanner smaller than a computer mouse – or it is being photographed by a camera (with facial mapping capabilities) that is much smaller than a mobile phone.
A computer then analysis’s and stores these independent features of the human body to provide a database of information – and obviously with a combination of several biometrics there is less room for false rejection or false acceptance. At present only iris and fingerprint recognition are suitable for multiple application elimination – but face and voice recognition as well as hand geometry can also be used to authenticate a persons identity.

At the summit the EU delegates were told that the aim is to supply every citizen in the continent with a biometric passport by 2007. What this means is that your passport will carry with it multi-modal identification information (face, finger and iris recognition).
But a key point often raised by the delegates as well as the corporations vying for tenders is how to make it acceptable to the citizens.
Well, one way to encourage the public’s complicity is to keep the level of fear and paranoia heightened. So it looks like it’s going to be a good long while before we hear the end of the evil terrorists who are out to murder and maim each person in the EU.
The other way is to make the technology user friendly and non-threatening looking – and if you look at the brochures and the equipment it all looks like something out of a glossy mobile phone commercial. Pretty, young multicultural people posing with a smile as they go about their daily lives with a biometric passport that looks like one of their credit cards, safe and happy in the knowledge that their government has all of their details on a central database for their protection. This is the cyber-nanny state.

And while it may be indisputable that biometrics could significantly enhance a countries security it is also equally conceivable that biometrics could be used to severely curb civil liberties and quell dissent. What happens when a state which is holding presidency of the EU wants to make life difficult for protesters who are struggling against capitalism and against ‘fortress Europe’?
In the run up to the Dublin Mayday ‘protests for an alternative Europe’ two non-nationals who had come over to Ireland to protest were detained for a few hours by the garda in the city centre even though they had both produced passports and bank cards to verify who they were. With biometric passports it is highly conceivable that people could be prevented from travelling to other countries to protest against policies that affect them - purely because they are considered to be ‘a security risk’ or are ‘known agitators’.

And what of states who have a despicable human rights record, states like Israel? In the occupied territory there are hundreds of permanent checkpoints, not just along the border, they are also scattered throughout the land checking and curtailing the movement of people. Already in the last 3 years 10 000 people have been prevented from entering the country – many of these are internationals who were intending to offer solidarity and aid to Palestinians.

With biometrics and inter-state data-sharing any country could easily prevent human rights observers and independent journalists from entering or moving about the country, and so silence any potential reports on atrocities.

The negative possibilities are unfortunately endless, and it will be interesting to see how this debate will play out in the mainstream media. But until then, take note at the next protest you are on of the uniformed and non-uniformed people who are filming you; and maybe you also might agree that wearing a mask and a pair of shades is more than a fashion statement.

save preference

Comments (9 of 9)

complusory identity cards

by pc

Thu Jun 17, 2004 20:05

will be used to deny people services as well as allow them...

could you source?

by o as if

Thu Jun 17, 2004 22:30

because in one of our recent European Resistance Peaks this year, the US state dept cancelled the requirement for biometric id on EU citizens visiting the states, and I sort of thought that had put the whole sinister biometric agenda back a bit. I haven't looked for the reference, but off the top of my head, it was the week we went hell for leather on Rumsfeld over the first torture accusations and suggested the White House wheel out an apologetic Condoleenza Rice (which they did). It was a brief time of lots of "VIP" types getting well pissed off at US customs, the heir to Spain's throne and his now wife, you know "the 2004 royal wedding cake for everyone crew", got well hassled on their way in, and in the VIP fallout, I do seem to remember at least the DNA bit of biometrics got hit on the head.
links would be really appreciated to the corps promoting this stuff, and to the current news.

What a shame !

by Charles Darwin

Thu Jun 17, 2004 23:40

I rather like the idea . Those with less desirable genetic fingerprints could be kept under control more easily.

It doesnt work....yet

by Lone Gunman

Fri Jun 18, 2004 01:57

Have a read up on the American ACLU website on the biometric and face recognition fiasco at the US airports.

It basically boils down to the fact that the only people who are pushing this junk is the companies that make it.it consistently fails to recognise disguised people or similiar looking people.
Anyway,how long would it be before this "foolproof"technology is defeated?like the unforgeable EU currency?
Keep an eye on it but dont be too worried about it...yet.

some sites:

by --

Fri Jun 18, 2004 13:22

haven't checked them meself but there may be some more info for anyone wanting to read on.

www.sagem.com
www.unisys.com/public_sector
www.nowcommunications.co.uk
wwww.daon.com
and ibm and motorola also produce biometric equipment.

event held in tandem with police conference

by kahootz

Fri Jun 18, 2004 15:29

"The EBF biometrics technology showcase has been set up to coincide with the European Police Force Conference held in Dublin from the 18 to 20 June 2004. The 3 day meeting, hosted by the Irish Police (An Garda Síochána), has been organised for the Heads of IT for the Police Forces of the EU member States. The Seminar will include presentations by IT experts from Ireland and abroad and workshop sessions aimed at identifying areas for potential technical co-operation in the future. "

http://www.euireland.ie/news/infosoc/0504/biometricstechshowcase.htm

Mayday

by Chutzpah

Fri Jun 18, 2004 15:44

3,000 people on Mayday felt no need to wear a mask. About 60 elitist people chose to wear a mask. 3,000 people had no problems with having their photo taken. The tiny masked mob did and felt it was their right to attack photographers.

Where do the Black Bloc get their mandate from? Its certainly no democratic mandate. They are just a bunch of elitist adventurists who substitute themselves for mass action. Their provocations make Non Violent Direct Action all the more difficult to carry out.

fuck the (computer) system

by dodge

Fri Jun 18, 2004 16:17

http://defy-id.org.uk have info on the companies involved in the British scheme.
Only the small oppportunists are on board right now. The likes of EDS & Siemens will join in once they feel safe enough.

As for disguising your identity, computer journal The Register has some rather nifty technical info in its "Everything you never wanted to know about the UK ID card" article @
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/05/complete_idcard_guide/

Don't worry about it being UK oriented. ID cards are NOT a national issue.
They were discussed at the 2003 G8, almost certainly at the Bilderberger bash, and are 'conicidentally' being introduced at the same time in all EU countries where carrying ID is not yet mandatory. (The other countries are looking at centralising and including biometric data on their systems as well).
And the US shows it's not an EU issue,

Make no mistake. There is SERIOUS political will behind this one. The population of the world will be catalogued, if politicians; goverments have to fall to do it. It's just a question of whether we can fuck the system up before it fucks us up.

interesting photo in local sunday newspaper

by merrrrovinngññgnivonjans - against biometrics.

Sun Jun 20, 2004 14:05

of a very large room filled from floor to ceiling with file boxes. None of the files within were ever organised, or catalogued, which might be good, for they were interior ministry colations gathered on the citizens of the country during it's period of non-democratic rule by dictatorship. It's a scene repeated throughout Europe which sadly in the very clear majority lost the necessary political and cultural will and direction to preserve democratic institutions, beliefs, liberty, fraternity and the "not going simian".

thankfully the simians of those times,
the men and women who "just did their job" had not the efficiency of our a global computerised machine at their disposal.

Some of us do not forget that, it was very recent, some of us don't forget anything.

Number of comments per page

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

The Saker

Public Inquiry

Lockdown Skeptics

Biometrics and Masking UP

Comments (9 of 9)