LCA: Identity-matching bill must draw a clear line
New legislation designed to help numerous government agencies identify faces in a crowd must more clearly define appropriate use, according to the national legal advocacy group.
![Scales of Justice, LCA, Intelligence and Security that the Identity-matching Services Bill](/images/articleImages-850x492/male-judge-scalesofjustice.jpg)
The Law Council of Australia last week told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security that the Identity-matching Services Bill needs to be clearer regarding what constitutes illegitimate or disproportionate use by the broad range of government agencies that would deploy the proposed new system.
But he went on to stress that the bill would enable the sharing of biometric and other identification information of a majority of individuals living in Australia.
“Clearly, the sharing of face recognition information would be desirable to facilitate detection of would-be terrorists scoping the site for a potential terrorist attack,” he said.
“But that very same identity-matching capability could also be used for a range of other activities.”
“CCTV footage could be used to detect, investigate or prosecute particular young people who may engage in certain low-level unlawful conduct, for example,” he explained.
The council believes the line between legitimate and proportionate use versus illegitimate and disproportionate use should be better defined and assured by law, Mr Bailes said.
“It should be understood and consistently applied by all relevant governments and their agencies, with clarity and stability of that line supported by appropriate accountability measures that are independently verifiable,” he argued.
“If that line can creep towards broad social surveillance such as use of this open system to detect and fine jaywalkers or litterers, that line can also creep further to a full social credit-style system of government surveillance of Australian citizens.”
The stability of the line must be maintained through operation of the provisions of the act itself, he concluded, not just through the anticipated good intentions of current and future governments.
The council looks forward to working constructively with the government on this legislation, Mr Bailes said.
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Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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