"European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx criticized governments' fondness for biometrics to identify citizens and warned that greater interoperability of databases may have serious implications for people.
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'Interoperability is mentioned not only in relation to the common use of large-scale IT systems but also with regard to possibilities of accessing or exchanging data, or even of merging databases,... This is regrettable since different kinds of interoperability require different safeguards and conditions.'
The supervisor also hit out at the use of biometrics as unique identifiers for European citizens within databases, saying that fingerprint or DNA identifications are too inaccurate and can facilitate the unwarranted interconnection of databases.
'It is regrettable that the protection of personal data has not been explored sufficiently as an inherent part of the improvement of the interoperability of relevant systems...'
