Editing Biometrics (section)

==Countries applying biometrics==
{{Main|Biometric identification by country}}
Countries using biometrics include [[Australia]], [[Brazil]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Canada]], [[Cyprus]], [[Greece]], [[China]], [[Gambia]], [[Germany]], [[India]], [[Iraq]], [[Ireland]], [[Israel]], [[Italy]], [[Malaysia]], [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Nigeria]], [[Norway]], [[Pakistan]], [[Poland]], [[South Africa]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Tanzania]], [[Turkey]],<ref>[http://www.planetbiometrics.com/article-details/i/2740/ web article dated 24 February 2015] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203144930/http://www.planetbiometrics.com/article-details/i/2740/ |date=3 February 2016 }} in ''planet biometrics'' entitled "Biometric voter registration launches in Tanzania" accessed 21 January 2016</ref> [[Ukraine]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[United Kingdom]], [[United States]] and [[Venezuela]].

Among low to middle income countries, roughly 1.2&nbsp;billion people have already received identification through a biometric identification program.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gelb|first=Alan|title=Identification for Development: The Biometrics Revolution|year=2013|publisher=The Center for Global Development|url=http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1426862/|author2=Julia Clark|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313020049/http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1426862/|archive-date=13 March 2013}}</ref>

There are also numerous countries applying [[Biometric voter registration|biometrics for voter registration]] and similar electoral purposes. According to the [[International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance|International IDEA]]'s ICTs in Elections Database,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/icts-elections|title=ICTs in Elections Database {{!}} International IDEA|website=www.idea.int|language=en|access-date=2017-07-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722121736/http://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/icts-elections|archive-date=22 July 2017}}</ref> some of the countries using (2017) Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) are [[Armenia]], [[Angola]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[Bolivia]], [[Brazil]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Cambodia]], [[Cameroon]], [[Chad]], [[Colombia]], [[Comoros]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo (Democratic Republic of)]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Fiji]], [[Gambia]], [[Ghana]], [[Guatemala]], [[India]], [[Iraq]], [[Kenya]], [[Lesotho]], [[Liberia]], [[Malawi]], [[Mali]], [[Mauritania]], [[Mexico]], [[Morocco]], [[Mozambique]], [[Namibia]], [[Nepal]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Nigeria]], [[Panama]], [[Peru]], [[Philippines]], [[Senegal]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Solomon Islands]], [[Somaliland]], [[Swaziland]], [[Tanzania]], [[Uganda]], [[Uruguay]], [[Venezuela]], [[Yemen]], [[Zambia]], and [[Zimbabwe]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.idea.int/data-tools/question-view/738|title=If the EMB uses technology to collect voter registration data, is biometric data captured and used during registration? {{!}} International IDEA|website=www.idea.int|language=en|access-date=2017-07-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729113721/http://www.idea.int/data-tools/question-view/738|archive-date=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aceproject.org/electoral-advice/archive/questions/replies/916219364|title=Biometric Voter Registration and Voter Identification —|website=aceproject.org|language=en|access-date=2017-07-19}}</ref>

=== India's national ID program ===
India's national ID program called [[Aadhaar]] is the largest biometric database in the world. It is a biometrics-based digital identity assigned for a person's lifetime, verifiable<ref>{{cite news |title=Aadhaar data kept, processed only on own secure servers: UIDAI |newspaper=The Economic Times |date=30 August 2017 |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/aadhaar-data-kept-processed-only-on-own-secure-servers-uidai/articleshow/60295134.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207134042/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/aadhaar-data-kept-processed-only-on-own-secure-servers-uidai/articleshow/60295134.cms |archive-date=7 December 2017}}</ref> online instantly in the public domain, at any time, from anywhere, in a paperless way. It is designed to enable government agencies to deliver a retail public service, securely based on [[biometric]] data ([[fingerprint]], [[iris scan]] and face photo), along with [[demographic data]] (name, age, gender, address, parent/spouse name, [[Mobile telephone numbering in India|mobile phone number]]) of a person. The data is transmitted in encrypted form over the internet for authentication, aiming to free it from the limitations of physical presence of a person at a given place.

About 550&nbsp;million residents have been enrolled and assigned 480&nbsp;million Aadhaar [[national identification number]]s as of 7 November 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aadhaar scheme does not violate fundamental rights, says UIDAI |publisher=Zee News |date=22 October 2013 |url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/aadhaar-scheme-does-not-violate-fundamental-rights-says-uidai_884850.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025053446/http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/aadhaar-scheme-does-not-violate-fundamental-rights-says-uidai_884850.html |archive-date=25 October 2013}}</ref> It aims to cover the entire population of 1.2&nbsp;billion in a few years.<ref name="Gelb">"Building a Biometric National ID: Lessons for Developing Countries from India's Universal ID Program", Alan Gelb and Julia Clark, The Center for Global Development, October 2012, {{cite web |url=http://www.cgdev.org/doc/full_text/GelbClarkUID/1426583.html |title=Building a Biometric National ID: Lessons for Developing Countries from India's Universal ID Program |access-date=2013-02-27 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917181612/https://www.cgdev.org/doc/full_text/GelbClarkUID/1426583.html |archive-date=17 September 2018}}</ref> However, it is being challenged by critics over privacy concerns and possible transformation of the state into a surveillance state, or into a [[Banana republic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/aadhaar-fir-are-we-living-in-banana-republic-asks-shatrughan-sinha-1797330|title=Aadhaar FIR: "Are We Living in Banana Republic?" Asks Shatrughan Sinha|website=ndtv.com|access-date=6 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203005827/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/aadhaar-fir-are-we-living-in-banana-republic-asks-shatrughan-sinha-1797330|archive-date=3 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/giving-aadhaar-the-finger/articleshow/62675842.cms|title=Giving Aadhaar the finger - Times of India|newspaper=The Times of India|date=28 January 2018 |access-date=6 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213131346/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/giving-aadhaar-the-finger/articleshow/62675842.cms|archive-date=13 February 2018}}</ref>§ The project was also met with mistrust regarding the safety of the social protection infrastructures.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Masiero|first=Silvia|date=September 2018|title=Explaining Trust in Large Biometric Infrastructures: A Critical Realist Case Study of India's Aadhaar Project|journal=The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries|volume=84|issue=6|pages=e12053|doi=10.1002/isd2.12053|url=https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/35413|doi-access=free}}</ref> To tackle the fear amongst the people, India's supreme court put a new ruling into action that stated that privacy from then on was seen as a fundamental right.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gemalto.com/govt/customer-cases/aadhaar|title=Aadhar project in India: 2018 facts and trends|last=Gemalto|date=1 July 2018|website=Gemalto|access-date=8 October 2018}}</ref> On 24 August 2017 this new law was established.

=== Malaysia's MyKad national ID program ===
The current identity card, known as [[Malaysian identity card|MyKad]], was introduced by the National Registration Department of Malaysia on 5 September 2001 with Malaysia becoming the first country in the world<ref>{{Cite web|title=Malaysia's national 'MyKad' ID card succeeding through service to citizens|url=https://www.secureidnews.com/news-item/malaysias-national-mykad-id-card-succeeding-through-service-to-citizens/|access-date=2020-12-13|website=SecureIDNews|language=en-US}}</ref> to use an identification card that incorporates both photo identification and fingerprint biometric data on a built-in computer chip embedded in a piece of plastic.

Besides the main purpose of the card as a validation tool and proof of citizenship other than the birth certificate, MyKad also serves as a valid driver's license, an ATM card, an electronic purse, and a public key, among other applications, as part of the Malaysian Government Multipurpose Card (GMPC) initiative,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-11-02|title=MalaysiaCentral.com - MyKad: The Government Multipurpose Card|url=http://www.malaysiacentral.com/article_people_of_malaysia/mykad_the_government_multipurpose_card.php|access-date=2020-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102011327/http://www.malaysiacentral.com/article_people_of_malaysia/mykad_the_government_multipurpose_card.php|archive-date=2 November 2010}}</ref> if the bearer chooses to activate the functions.