Privacy fears delay Terminal 5 fingerprint biometrics
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Information Commissioner raised data protection concerns about Heathrow airport's new system
Airport operator BAA has withdrawn a fingerprint biometrics system from Heathrow’s new fifth terminal – just days before it opens – after a statement from the Information Commissioner questioned its legality.
The planned system was to take fingerprint scans of all passengers passing through the terminal in order to crack down on illegal immigration and security threats..
But a statement issued this week by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) suggested that the system may be in breach of the Data Protection Act. The statement followed a complaint from civil liberties group Privacy International which described the system as “disproportionately intrusive”.
Initially, BAA denied that the system was in breach of the law.
"Fingerprinting was selected as the most robust method by BAA, the BIA and other government departments,” the company said in a statement quoted in the Mail on Sunday newspaper. "The data is encrypted immediately and destroyed within 24 hours of use, in accordance with the Data Protection Act. It does not include personal details nor is it cross-referenced with any other database." But the company has since backed down. "The introduction of fingerprinting for domestic passengers and international passengers transferring on to domestic flights at Heathrow will be temporarily delayed,” it said yesterday. “BAA will be opening Terminal 5 using a photographic identification process during this time which is already in place."
Further reading
Biometric diversity Introducing a host of innovations that use unusual human characteristics to confirm identity.
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