Welcome to ID Tech’s digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:
Delhi Police Tell Supreme Court Facial Recognition Flagged Only Prior Offenders
In a sworn affidavit submitted to India’s Supreme Court, Delhi Police stated that the facial recognition system deployed during July demonstrations at Jantar Mantar did not engage in indiscriminate surveillance, capturing only individuals with prior records for serious crimes. The force reported generating 2,873 potential matches between July 20 and 26 against crime databases—including 92 individuals linked to more than 10 criminal cases—while maintaining that no police action is taken on a biometric match alone without field verification. Heard by a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant alongside Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, the proceedings address a constitutional challenge brought by a Rajya Sabha parliamentarian regarding the legality of deploying facial recognition surveillance tools at public assemblies.
Frances Constitutional Council Strikes Down Under 15 Social Media Ban
France’s Constitutional Council has invalidated a law passed by parliament that sought to ban children under 15 from social media platforms, ruling that the measure constituted a disproportionate restriction on minors’ freedom of expression. In its August 14 ruling, the council determined that the broad prohibition lacked adequate justification across all covered platforms and criticized the statutory age-verification requirement for failing to define necessary data privacy safeguards. The decision invalidates the scheduled September 1 enforcement across networks such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to instruct the government to draft revised legislation to regulate youth social media access under European privacy frameworks.
Coles and Woolworths Confirm Facial Recognition Tests After Bunnings Ruling
Major Australian supermarket operators Coles and Woolworths have confirmed conducting internal proof-of-concept tests of facial recognition technology to evaluate potential retail crime defenses, though neither chain has committed to in-store deployments. Coles characterized its testing as a one-off technical evaluation using no customer or employee data, while Woolworths conducted tests within its New Zealand corporate offices amid rising retail worker safety concerns reported by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association. The technical assessments follow a landmark Administrative Review Tribunal decision permitting retailer Bunnings to use facial recognition under narrow circumstances to evaluate retail facial recognition for worker safety and loss prevention.
Sri Lankas Digital ID Nears Launch as India Readies Final Approval
The Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity project is approaching its operational launch phase as the Indian government finalizes approval for onboarding a master systems provider, with TCS, Infosys, and Protean undergoing final vendor evaluations. Supported by Indian grant assistance, the national platform is built upon the Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) architecture to establish a foundational biometric credential system modeled after India’s Aadhaar infrastructure. Speaking at a bilateral business forum, Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha confirmed that final procurement procedures are concluding to deploy open-source MOSIP infrastructure for national digital identity.
Thailand Proposes Linking National Digital ID to Roblox Accounts
Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has proposed integrating the country’s National Digital ID (NDID) infrastructure and electronic know-your-customer processes with Roblox user accounts to enhance youth protection and age verification. In discussions between Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob and Roblox public policy leadership, officials outlined a joint working group to evaluate verified identity integration alongside existing in-game safety tools, content pre-screening, and behavioral anomaly alerts. The initiative seeks to strengthen youth safeguarding without imposing platform bans, exploring ways to connect national digital identity credentials with online gaming platforms.
Liberia Completes Procurement for Austrian Built Biometric ID System
The National Identification Registry (NIR) of Liberia has concluded procurement for a national biometric identification system under a public-private partnership concession with Austrian technology provider OSD, with the finalized agreement submitted to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai for legislative ratification. Designed to resolve operational issues that led to the suspension of national ID issuance in June 2025, the partnership aims to enroll the country’s full population within 18 months under Executive Order 147 while retaining sovereign state ownership of all biometric data. Managed in consultation with national telecommunications and regulatory authorities, the project establishes updated infrastructure to deploy nationwide biometric enrollment and national identification cards.
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
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