A Guide to Litigating Identity Systems USES OF BIOMETRIC DATA: PROFILING 40. The use of biometric data in identity systems can lead to a disproportionate interference with the right to privacy because they help track the movement of people enrolled in the system and create comprehensive profiles of individuals. a) Justice Sykes of the Jamaican Supreme Court argues that the pairing of biometric data with a unique identification number allows the state to track individuals.127 Justice Sykes also finds that the biometric data and unique identification number system envisioned in Jamaica would allow for profiling.128 This is the case because the data seeded across databases for verification purposes can be linked and used to create a profile of an individual.129 b) The Supreme Court of the Philippines identified the risk that an individual’s movements could be tracked using a national identity system because the individual would need to present their identification whenever they dealt with a government agency, the instances of which will necessarily be recorded.130 The court also suggests that the sophisticated data centre housing the information could then create a “cradle-to-grave dossier on an individual.”131 127 Opinion of Justice Sykes, ¶ 246. 128 Opinion of Justice Sykes, ¶ 246. 129 Opinion of Justice Sykes, ¶ 246. 130 Blas F. Ople, Part III at 5. 131 Blas F. Ople, Part III at 5. 32

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