FB pixel

NZ’s ID verification program is inaccurate and skipped engagement with Māori — reports

NZ’s ID verification program is inaccurate and skipped engagement with Māori — reports
 

New Zealand’s biometric Identity Check program is suffering from poor performance and a break in public trust, according to media reports.

A pair of articles published by Radio New Zealand indicates that the program, which includes facial recognition algorithms, is bearing unexpected costs and delays.

Identity Check is to become the way most residents authenticate themselves online, not unlike the perhaps equally troubled Login.gov program in the United States.

The Social Development Ministry is integrating Identity Check as a way of securely distributing government benefits, but, according to RNZ, it would also be used for financial and other private-sector services.

The publisher reports using the nation’s Official Information Act to get previously undisclosed data about the program. According to RNZ, an internal July memo states: “Current success levels are approximately 55 percent” in recent tests.

Improvements since then reportedly have included liveness tests.

In a related problem, the government is shown to have failed to include the nation’s Māori population in developing Identity Check generally and facial recognition specifically, despite assurances to the contrary.

Māori facial tattoos (Mataora) may impact the accuracy of face biometrics.

A September 2022 memo allegedly states: “To date no specific Māori engagement has been conducted regarding Identity Check.” RNZ has reported that the government last week agreed to “an approach for engagement with Māori.”

Article Topics

 |   |   |   |   | 

Latest Biometrics News

 

Legal battle over Clearview AI’s origin takes a turn as accuser drops suit

Fortunes have swung in a long-simmering legal skirmish between biometrics firm Clearview AI and an extreme right wing commentator who…

 

China cracks down on facial recognition payments

Businesses in China dealing with facial recognition payments will have to comply with a new set of security standards released…

 

South African banks plan more branches to expand digital ID services access

Banks in South Africa say they plan to open more branches this year in order to facilitate access to Home…

 

Kenyan President signs Proclamation to facilitate national ID issuance in border communities

President William Ruto of Kenya has signed a Presidential Proclamation on Registration and Issuance of IDs to border counties in…

 

UK government declares deepfakes ‘greatest challenge of the online age’

A new case study published by the UK government does not mince words, or numbers: “The rise in deepfakes generated…

 

EU investigating Atos over buying EES software through Russian office

European prosecutors are investigating French IT company Atos for using its Russian office to purchase software for the upcoming EU’s…

Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Most Viewed This Week

Featured Company

Biometrics Insight, Opinion

Digital ID In-Depth

Biometrics White Papers

Biometrics Events