Why Australia Is Discontinuing Its Aadhaar-Like Biometrics Identity Project

Although the Indian government remains all-in behind the controversial biometric ID project Aadhaar, and hopes to take it to the rest of the world – the idea seems to have hit a few snags in other places. Australia just announced its decision to discontinue the Biometric Identification Services (BIS) project, citing delays as the cause. However, Innovation Aus reported that the project is said to have been roughly $40 million over budget and returning a large amount of false positives.The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) inked a $46 million deal with tech company NEC Australia in 2016 to expand its fingerprint database with additional biometric features. Going beyond the fingerprint and iris that Aadhaar collects, the BIS would also look at palm prints, facial recognition, and footprints. However, two years down the line, faced with delays and overspending, the Australian government has shown willingness to pull the plug.That’s very different from what’s happening here in India, where despite a mountain of leaks, some technical and some just very human, and huge costs involved, the Aadhaar seems here to stay.

 

Source: Why Australia Is Discontinuing Its Aadhaar-Like Biometrics Identity Project