Biometric facial scans taken for passports, driver’s licences or nightclub entry can be stored in police databases under recent changes to the Privacy Act, the Herald Sun reports. Police will also have the ability to ask businesses to share patrons’ facial scans, though a spokeswoman for the Attorney-General’s Office said businesses would not be compelled to share the data under the act. “Information can only be shared with law enforcement agencies in strictly limited circumstances with increased privacy protections,” she said. Revisions to the Privacy Act classify biometric data as “sensitive data,” requiring law enforcement to apply special safeguards.
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