NRC Next, 19 Feb 2014: 'Storing fingerprints centrally is against the law'

"The central storage of fingerprints as part of the Passport Act violates citizens' right to privacy. The Hague Court of Appeal ruled that yesterday in a case brought by Privacy First, which advocates for privacy interests, against the Dutch government. A new Passport Act came into force in 2009. A passport must have a chip with a facial image and two fingerprints. The Netherlands went further and chose four fingerprints. This was to prevent 'lookalike fraud': travelling on a passport of someone you resemble. The Ministry of Justice wanted to store all the information in a central database, to which the AIVD would have free access. After criticism of the large margin of error of equipment to recognise fingerprints and objections over privacy, the plan was provisionally called off by then-minister Donner in 2011. Last year, the House of Representatives did approve central storage of fingerprints of foreigners."

Source: NRC Next, 19 February 2014, Knowledge section.