UAE Cabinet approves trial of facial recognition for private sector services

The Cabinet of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has endorsed a move to introduce face biometrics for some sectors in the country.

The facial recognition decision is intended to ensure efficiency in the identification of individuals and to reduce much paperwork in the processing of private and public sector transactions, Gulf News reports.

According to the report, the development was announced by UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, after a Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The biometric project, the official said, will be fronted by the Interior Ministry and will likely be expanded in the future to other sectors of the country’s economy if the trial for a few private sector services is successful.

Tweeting on the issue, the Dubai Media Office wrote: “During the meeting, the Cabinet approved the Ministry of Interior’s proposal of employing facial recognition technology to further develop the services provided by private and government sectors, with the aim of facilitating procedures.”

The Office followed up with another tweet that “the employment of the facial recognition technology will facilitate services to the public at any time and place without the need of traditional means of identification such as official documents.”

Gulf News also reported that a number of other important decisions were approved by the Cabinet including the National Standards Manual for Statistical Data, which it notes, will serve as the unique framework that will govern the collection, processing and storage of statistical data.

The manual contains standards for statistics on many subject areas such as the economy, society and demographics, education, employment, environment, building and housing, and administrative divisions.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  pilot project  |  secure transactions  |  UAE