Imagine an ID card that remembers all
of your personal records. This one card serves as your driver’s license and a
catch-all that includes information about your health insurance, tax payments,
and bank accounts. Oh, and it’s a MasterCard.
Now imagine you’re required to have it to
vote. By 2019, that will be the case in Nigeria, where the government is
running a large-scale pilot program with MasterCard, the U.S. credit card
giant. An initial 13 million Nigerians will participate in the pilot program, but
all those above the age of 16 — a whopping 160 million people — are expected to
carry the cards by 2019.
At an official launch in the Nigerian
capital of Abuja last week, President Goodluck Jonathan was the first to
receive one of the biometric cards, which stores a scan of its owner’s irises
and all ten fingerprints. “The card is not only a means of certifying your
identity, but also a personal database repository and payment card, all in your
pocket,” Jonathan said.
He also pointed to the economic benefits of
the no-cost card, which will provide access to electronic banking for citizens
who previously might have faced challenges qualifying for loans due to lack of
identification.
While Nigeria is not the first country to
launch a biometric ID card tied to a banking system, this is the first time a
major banking institution has so specifically endorsed the use of an ID card.
Eventually, the ID system could be used to disburse social benefits, make
deposits and withdrawals, and set up savings accounts through local banks
partnering with MasterCard for the initiative. MasterCard calls the initiative
a “financial inclusion project,” and in that sense the project holds potential
as a way to more efficiently disburse government benefits — without corrupt
officials skimming off the top.
But the card has also raised concerns among
many Nigerians who worry that the card could compromise their privacy — by
making it accessible either to the government or to a hacker. With a massive
trove of information stored on each citizen, the card could pose as an
attractive target for cyber-criminals looking for personal information.
Gus Hosein, the executive director of
U.K.-based civil liberties NGO Privacy International, said these concerns are
especially frightening as so far no plan has been presented to protect citizens
from having their private data shared with MasterCard.
“Building a vast and expansive identity
system with weak protections means, sadly, that it’s going to be abused,”
Hosein said.
This is not Nigeria’s first shot at a
nationwide identification program. Ten years ago, a similar project failed
after millions of cards were canceled amid double registrations and a slew of
errors on the cards. That has made many Nigerians wary of the new
all-encompassing ID card. And in a country plagued by a history of government
corruption and abuse of power, the requirement to use an ID linked to banking
in order to vote is particularly sensitive.
“There is good reason why no democratic
society permits the creation of such a system, at least not without incredible
safeguards,” Hosein said. “Something as precious as your right to participate
in elections should never be placed at risk of faulty systems, deployed by
people who may be well meaning, but do not understand the risks.”
No comments:
Post a Comment