1984 was meant to be a warning, not a template.
A week or so ago I was transferring to a domestic flight at Heathrow. Before I could get to the UK Border to show my passport I was confronted by a row of desks with cameras and fingerprint readers, not unlike US Immigration except these read all your fingerprints at once rather than individually.
Assuming this was some experiment, I politely explained that I didn't wish to participate and made to continue to the border. I was stopped and told it wasn't optional, and to get to the border I was required to have my fingerprints and photograph taken.
I enquired under what authority this was required and was told that I should enquire of the Home Office. All the staff were uniformed BAA employees. I asked to speak to someone from immigration and was told they wouldn't speak to anyone. I started to get somewhat irritated and pointed out that they were effectively preventing me from presenting myself at the British border. I was then given folded leaflet to explain the new "enhanced security".
(click pages to see larger image) (BAA also have a pdf)
The front says
Transforming Heathrow - Biometric Security
Heathrow Airport has introduced shared departure lounges as part of the airport’s transformation.
This means that travellers to UK and international destinations will use the same departures lounge.
As a result, passengers travelling to UK destinations can now enjoy the same facilities as those travelling abroad.
To ensure we maintain the highest levels of border security, we are now required to introduce additional controls for passengers travelling to UK destinations. For this reason, we will capture the photo and fingerprints of passengers to UK destinations. Only passengers who comply with these additional controls will be able to fly to UK destinations.
This personal data will then be encrypted immediately and
will be destroyed within 24 hours of use in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 1998. Your data capture does not include your personal details.
Hmm, this is about shared departure lounges. I explained that I wasn't going to use the lounge and wished to proceed to the border. I was then told that if I "landed myself" I would not be required to provide a photograph or fingerprints.
Now what this means is that if I cleared immigration at the terminal I landed at rather than using the "flight connections" facility I would not be required to provide a photograph or fingerprints. As I had ninety minutes before my connection, and was by now so irritated, I went back through security at the flight connections center and through the border at the terminal instead.
BAA's website states clearly that these security measures are a UK Government requirement
Can I decline to supply my data?
These security measures are a Government requirement. Passengers who refuse to provide their data, or to validate it prior to boarding, will be denied entry and will not be able to board their flight.
so I chalked this up to one more example of the inexorable erosion of civil liberties in the UK and renewed my resolve to avoid Heathrow whenever possible. But this morning I see this story on the BBC News website :-
Heathrow fingerprint plan probed
Plans to fingerprint passengers at Heathrow's new Terminal 5 are being probed by the data protection watchdog.
The Information Commissioner's Office warned airport operator BAA it may be in breach of the Data Protection Act.
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith is quoted as telling the Mail on Sunday:
"We want to know why Heathrow needs to fingerprint passengers at all. Taking photographs is less intrusive. So far we have not heard BAA's case for requesting fingerprints. If we find there is a breach of data protection legislation, we would hope to persuade them to put things right. If that is not successful we can issue an enforcement notice. If they don't comply, it is a criminal offence and they can be prosecuted."
The Mail on Sunday's article is more direct than the Aunty's:-
Terminal Five chaos threat over fingerprint plan: Commissioner tells passengers to protest at security measures
...
The Commissioner's office says passengers ordered to give their prints should do so "under protest" and that such a scheme would normally be considered "intrusive".
My experience of protesting was that there's no one to protest to. BAA aren't interested. The new Border & Immigration Agency Staff aren't interested, and the Home Office has denied ordering Heathrow to fingerprint passengers.
The Mail then get close to what, in my opinion, is the real issue
The airport claims fingerprinting is necessary so that all passengers - domestic and international - can mix freely in Terminal 5's huge airside shopping mall.
Why they need fingerprints is a mystery. BAA should at least explain how they encrypt this data, and how they audit its destruction after 24 hours. Personally I fear it's just a matter of time before its offered for sale with a correlated list of passport details. As David Davis said on a recent Question Time panel:-
"1984 was meant to be a warning, not a template."
[Update: The Telegraph has just posted a story that reports (my links):
A leading barrister has already informed BAA that he will refuse to give his fingerprints, describing the process as an "Orwellian" abuse of civil liberties.
Nigel Rumfitt QC, a specialist in serious crime including terrorism, said it was a move towards a "database state" and Britain would become a nation that "restricts the internal movement of its citizens".]
[Update 2: The Telegraph also reported this back in July 2007,
Heathrow to introduce fingerprint checks - BA domestic passengers are to become the first in Britain to have their fingerprint taken as a matter of routine.
which also included this detail ...
"The new machinery at Terminal 5 also had the potential to synchronise with other databases, so that a passenger's biometric information could instantly be checked against, for instance, an ID card database."
This implies that the readers are networked together, have access to external networks, and quite possibly can be accessed from external networks.]
[Update 3: It seems this will apply to ALL British Airways domestic flights using Terminal 5, this wording will be read out when making bookings and will also appear on ba.com, e-ticket receipts and itinerary letters:-
"If you are travelling on a British Airways UK domestic flight from Heathrow Terminal 5 you will be required to register a biometric (finger prints) and a photograph on entering the departure lounge. When boarding the flight your biometric and/or photograph will be checked*. Alternative arrangements will be made if you have a disability which makes it impossible for you to comply with this requirement."]
[ Update 4: Privacy International are advising How to deal with the Heathrow fingerprint system. They also have a link to their March 9th complaint, and the March 20th response from the Information Commissioner's office which has led to the media interest in this.]
[Update 5: BBC News report
Format: asx?ad=1&ct=50
Duration: 01:40
]
[Update 6: March 26th Privacy International : Heathrow buries passenger fingerprinting scheme
Following Privacy International's recent complaint to the Information Commissioner, the British Airports Authority has announced that it will suspend fingerprinting operations in Heathrow terminals.
Simon Davies, Director of Privacy International, said in response: "So much for BAA’s brash certainty about the legality of fingerprinting. BAA has clearly taken legal advice and concluded that it is acting unlawfully. We predict that this illegal system will never again see the light of day. Within a few weeks BAA will be flogging the technology to Beijing for the Olympics." ]