Russia plans biometrics, CCTV use to automate enforcement of petty offenses

Russia plans to use the Unified Biometric System (UBS) to charge automatic fines for various minor administrative violations such as jaywalking, smoking or drinking alcohol in unauthorized places and violation of traffic rules.

The State Council of the Russian Federation has instructed the Ministry of Digital Development to set up such a system on public surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence.

As part of these plans, a violator will be identified from photo and video materials using the Unified Biometrics System.

Currently the UBS is not connected with the city video surveillance systems of Moscow or other major cities of Russia and, according to the federal law “On the identification and authentication of individuals using biometrics (572-FZ)”, cannot be used in operational and investigative activities. Still, there is a possibility that the situation will change with the introduction of amendments in the Russia’s biometrics legislation.

History of UBS

Officially, biometrics became a subject of legal regulation in Russia only at the end of 2017, after the adoption of amendments to the federal law “On Banks and Banking Activities (482-FZ).”

Prior to 2017, there was a set of commercial systems in Russia that operated based on the existing federal law on personal data, which allowed (with the special consent of the client) the collection of certain biometrics data, such as photo, voice, fingerprints, and retinal pattern.

In 2018, by the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Development, the Unified Biometric System was created, which later received the status of a state information system (GIS). The Russian Center for Biometric Technologies (CBT) was appointed its official operator.

In summer of 2023, the new federal law “On the identification and authentication of individuals using biometrics (572-FZ)” was approved by the Russian Parliament, which obliged commercial structures, that previously collected biometric data from citizens, to transfer them to the UBS, destroying their own stored data.

Support for latest initiative

Still, the latest initiative has already received support from Moscow city government and Russian police, which hope to use the wide network of CCTV cameras in the city for recording of such violations, with the further setting of fines in a simplified manner issued for a variety of offenses provided for by the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses.

Up-to-date information on the number of biometric samples stored in the Unified Biometric System is published monthly on the portal of the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System (EMISS), being currently estimated at about 75 million.

The number of samples stored in the Unified Biometric System is not identical to the number of citizens who have registered biometrics. One person may have several biometric samples registered in different organizations and then imported into the Unified Biometric System, according to the CBT.

According to Russian analysts in the field of biometrics, the use of CCTV cameras in combination with the Unified Biometric System will also become a problem for illegal migrants. Currently, the Ministry of Digital Development is promoting initiatives that will not allow foreigners to purchase SIM cards without registering in the Unified Biometric System. In addition, earlier this year the Ministry of Internal Affairs submitted a bill to the government that involves the collection and recording of biometric data of foreigners entering the Russian Federation. The government believes that integrating the telecom system with the Unified Biometric System will improve the recording and control of the movement of migrants in the Russian Federation.

It is expected that relevant amendments to the Russian biometrics legislation will be approved by the Russian State Duma and the Council in the shortest possible time.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  cctv  |  Center for Biometric Technologies  |  law enforcement  |  legislation  |  Russia  |  Unified Biometrics System  |  video surveillance