Expanded biometric, criminal data-sharing discussed at recent Five Eyes meeting

The Five Eyes alliance, comprising the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom, is considering expanding its data-sharing practices, particularly involving criminal databases and biometric information, as the government in New Zealand irons out the legal aspect of the collaboration, RNZ reports.

The collaboration, which involves the exchange of fingerprint data, is intended to streamline immigration processes while bolstering national security across the participating countries.

The alliance, operating under frameworks such as the Migration 5 (M5), has seen an increase in the volume of biometric and demographic data shared among member countries, with the number of checks rising from 3,000 to 400,000 per year per country.

The most recent meetings of the Criminal Database Checking (CDC) group occurred in March in Wellington, and was put in place to discuss a proposal to allow M5 countries to access each other’s domestic criminal databases for visa applications and other immigration-related matters, such as refugee status claims.

This was the first in-person gathering of the newly established CDC. The proposal was initially introduced by the Five Countries Ministerial in 2021, which was also hosted by New Zealand.

New Zealand, which plays a central role in hosting some of the alliance’s operations, including a permanent secretariat, has been involved in discussions to enhance the interoperability of these databases. The country’s involvement underscores its commitment to the alliance, but it also highlights the challenges in balancing national security with individual rights.

Despite the Five Eyes alliance being in the early stages of deepening its cooperation on biometric data sharing, in 2022, the collective announced its strategy on data sharing and biometrics.

If the initiative moves forward, countries would not have direct access to each other’s criminal databases. Instead, they would request information using fingerprints, New Zealand’s immigration minister Erica Stanford tells RNZ.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  criminal ID  |  Five Eyes  |  national security