June 11, 2003

Passports are about to get a lot safer!

From this:

The passport office has begun digitizing the photographs of millions of Canadians whose mugshots may end up in a United Nations-sanctioned global facial recognition database. The move is to meet standards set by the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which requires a tiny computer chip with a person's picture and basic information be input into every passport from its 188 member states...

The UN body said the global database can be used to nab or monitor terrorists, fugitives and others sought by police...

"At some point every Canadian passport will have a chip inside," [Jacques] Perron [of the Canadian Passport Office] said. "There is nothing to prevent nations from collecting data and putting them on a database..."

...officials are using facial recognition to screen people applying for passports to curb fraud.

ICAO spokesman Denis Chagnon said facial recognition will increase air security and speed up the flow of passengers.

"If police are trying to find someone their face can be flagged on a database," Chagnon said. "Anyone who holds a passport will become part of a global database."

Ain't nuthin like a giant global database with everyone's picture in it. This will definitely sharply increase everyone's safety. And, the fact that the UN is involved just gives it that extra bit of legitimacy.

Links to my previous "Mark of the Beast" posts start here.

Posted to Privacy at June 11, 2003 03:24 PM

Comments