A ‘Five Eyes’ data-sharing scheme has dramatically expanded in recent years with little oversight, according to a new investigative report from RNZ. What began as a system to verify the identities of a few thousand asylum seekers has evolved into an extensive network that tracks everyone entering or leaving the Five Eyes nations.
The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising New Zealand, the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, focused on cooperative data and information sharing.
Initially, the agreement focused on comparing the fingerprints of asylum seekers, with a maximum of 3,000 checks annually per country. However, the demand for data quickly grew, and the number of checks has soared to 8 million annually. This data now includes not only asylum seekers but all travelers, visitors, and migrants.
Biometric data, particularly fingerprints, has become central to this expanded data-sharing network. Originally, only asylum seekers’ fingerprints were shared, but the system has shifted to include more comprehensive biometric and biographic data, shared automatically and often without the knowledge or consent of the individuals involved.
The network’s secrecy and the potential for errors in data handling have raised significant concerns. The agreements underpinning the data-sharing arrangements are obscure and can be changed without public oversight. This has led to fears about the potential for mistaken identity and the lack of mechanisms for individuals to correct errors. The case of a Canadian toddler mistakenly placed on a no-fly list highlights the risks of such expansive data-sharing practices.
Critics of the system include immigration experts and civil liberties advocates. UK immigration professor and lawyer Elspeth Guild described the agreements as having “astonishing audacity.” Chris Jones, director of the UK civil liberties organization Statewatch, emphasized that “biometric data is counted as a sensitive category of personal data, it merits high levels of protection.” He warned that such data-sharing systems could turn everyone into a suspect, stating, “There needs to be great justification as to when organizations can collect it, and when they can share it.”
There are also concerns about the lack of independent oversight. For example, New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioner has limited involvement in overseeing these agreements, and there is little public knowledge about the extent and use of the shared data.
Nevertheless, the future of the Five Eyes data-sharing network points toward even greater integration and data sharing. The goal is to create a “single window” through which member countries can access one another’s immigration and customs data seamlessly.
Source: RNZ
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June 17, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy
