Russian lawmakers okay legal framework for biometric data collection and processing

The lower house of Russia’s federal parliament, the State Duma, has adopted a law setting up a legal framework for the collection, storage and management of biometric data using the unified biometrics system (UBS) or others systems.

According to the law, the forceful collection of biometric data is outlawed and discrimination of any form against persons who refuse their biometrics from being captured will henceforth not be tolerated, per a Sputnik state media report (carried by Urdu Point).

Going by the publication, the law allows only the collection of face and voice biometrics and prohibits any form of coercion for collecting them.

Biometric data collected can also be easily deleted from the system, and data subjects have the right to refuse the submission of their data, in writing, using the state services portal dubbed Gosuslugi.

As reported by state media, biometrics can also not be collected from children unless their parents give consent.

Those who refuse to submit their biometrics should not be denied access to public services, according to the legislation, which also bans cross-border transmission of biometric data collected in Russia.

A key recommendation contained in the law is the putting in place of a national coordination council that will work to develop biometrics-based digital ID and authentication technologies.

Sputnik quotes the State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin as calling on the concerned Duma committees to come up with proposals for liability for data leakages, after which they will also develop proposals for criminal and administrative responsibility for cases of forced collection of biometric data and leaks.

This development comes as good news for Russia’s Orthodox Church, which had called on the legislative chamber to pass a law that protects the fundamental rights of citizens to refuse the collection of biometric data by state authorities.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  data collection  |  legislation  |  regulation  |  Russia