Concerns Over Identity Privacy and Security Persist

The debate over how personally identifiable information (PII) is collected, used and stored digitally was brought into sharp focus during the worldwide response to COVID-19, with the widespread adoption of contact tracking and tracing. Now that the overriding objective of beating the virus has receded (for ever, I hope), we are still left with questions of privacy and security, as these examples from around the world illustrate.

Privacy

Israel's house of representatives has approved legislation that allows full access to the national biometric database by the Israel Defence Force, the police, the Shin Bet (security agency), and the Mossad (Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations). In a legal memorandum prepared by the government, the house also seeks to grant access to private security cameras.