Municipalities want facial scanners to prevent fraud with ID, passport applications

Several Dutch municipalities have plans to use facial scanners to prevent identity fraud when applying for ID cards or passports. The scan should confirm whether the person applying is the same person as in the photo of the old document, NOS reports.

Facial scanners are currently mostly found at airports, where they check incoming customers. Almere and Utrechtse Heuvelrug, among others, are working on plans to use them in the application process for passports, IDs, and driver’s licenses. More municipalities are also playing with the idea, the Dutch Association for Civil Affairs (NVVB) told NOS.

In practice, the municipal workers will use a document scanner to check the authenticity of the old document. The applicant will then undergo a facial scan to check whether they are the person in the photo on the old document.

According to the NVVB, there is not yet a legal basis for the use of facial scanners in this way. A facial scan is considered special personal data and organizations who use them must handle them very carefully, according to privacy legislation.

The Ministry of Home Affairs told NOS that it is up to municipalities if they want to use facial scanners. If they choose to do so, “it is on their own initiative and under their own responsibility,” a spokesperson said. “To test whether the use complies with privacy legislation, these municipalities should do a risk analysis.”