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Nothing personal,just your fingerprints please

By Peter Timmins

The US Secretary of Homeland Security in Ottawa last week suggested that fingerprints were not "personal data", implying that collection and use, and sharing between authorities should be beyond the reach of privacy laws.

Canada's Privacy Commisioner wasted no time in telling her Minister(publicly) that this was not a view consistent with Canadian law, and that she expected to be consulted about any arrangement with a foreign government about sharing this type of information.

Hopefully our authorities take the same line with the US, but a public statement would be reassuring

Full post as published by Open and Shut on April 14, 2008 (boomark / email).