Security.nl, 25 Feb 2013: 'Privacy club wants truly anonymous OV-chipkaart'

"The current anonymous OV-chipkaart is not anonymous and thus violates two human rights, according to the Privacy First Foundation. A General Consultation on the OV-chipkaart will take place next Thursday, 28 February. Privacy First sent a letter to the Lower House's Standing Committee for Infrastructure and the Environment with points that should be addressed.

The foundation argues that because of a unique identification number in the RFID chip, the anonymous OV-chip card is not anonymous. This still makes it possible to identify and trace travellers afterwards by linking transaction data.

"In Privacy First's view, this constitutes a violation of two human rights, namely the freedom of movement combined with the right to privacy, or the classic right to travel freely and anonymously in one's own country." It therefore calls for the introduction of an anonymous public transport chip card that is truly anonymous.

Tickets
Until genuine anonymous OV-chip cards and anonymous discount cards exist, Privacy First wants paper tickets to remain available for travellers who want to be able to travel anonymously. Also, a "pink" anonymous discount card for children and the elderly should still be introduced.

Furthermore, the foundation wants the mandatory checking in and out for students with a student public transport chip card to be abolished. This is because it would violate students' right to travel freely and anonymously.

Storage
Another issue raised in the letter is the current retention periods of OV-chipcard data. These should be reduced to an absolutely necessary minimum, according to Privacy First. "Also, travellers should be given the option to delete their travel history at any time."

Source: Security.co.uk, 25 February 2013.