Government biometrics programs and national ID card contracts in Africa need more transparency
This week’s events show a wide variance in the success of biometrics projects, and the diverse nature of digital ID…
SIM cards
Biometric surveillance systems cause concerns in Russia, Thailand
A pair of Russians have filed a complaint against the mass use of facial recognition at a protest in Moscow…
Myanmar closes delayed biometrics tender amid funding confusion, data protection laws still absent
The government of Myanmar has carried out a tender process for a biometric database for mobile phone subscribers, alarming civil…
Biometrics for charity in Nigeria, electoral audit demand in Malawi, WURI funding for West Africa
While in recent weeks the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led to the disabling of biometric systems based on fears of spreading…
Pakistan mobile providers request lower biometric verification fees from NADRA
One of the first orders of business of a new industry group for mobile network operators in Pakistan is having…
Indian telecoms ask government to approve remote SIM registration with facial biometrics
With the COVID-19 outbreak making in-person visits to telecom branches for biometric SIM registration impossible, mobile service providers in India…
Biometrics and digital ID in Africa this week: SIM cards reactivated, refugee privacy concerns and coronavirus
The spread of the coronavirus on the continent sees more impact on biometric services. This week we have summarized the…
Biometrics and digital ID across Africa this week: savings and costs in Nigeria, divisions in Tanzania, Ghana
Once again, Nigeria dominates the biometrics news agenda in Africa and this week; even a university has resorted to biometric…
Biometrics and digital ID across Africa this week: mass enrollments, closed borders and system failures
While Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Chad either launched or announced mass enrollments for biometric civil registrations, the system in…
Biometrics and digital ID across Africa this week: registration for Nigeria SIMs, Zimbabwe public sector
After much criticism of Kenya’s Huduma Namba scheme, this week there is a call for further use of biometrics to…
