The report, first shared by Calcalist, showed that the government authority has been allowed to assemble a database of low quality face pictures for years, since the database was not treated as a biometric database because the face pictures were of a quality low enough that they could not be used for biometric identity verification. The photos were stored in order to be used for visual identification.
However, since the law was passed to allow the authority to store the photos, identification technology has progressed at a fast pace, with technologies now available that can accurately identify the subjects even in the low quality photos.Despite the technological advancements, the law has not been updated and the photos are not being protected by the legal standards which guard general biometric information.
The commissioner stressed that the Population Authority must find a solution to bring the database under the standards required by the laws concerning biometric information or amend the existing law concerning the database.
"The commissioner believes that the current situation, in which the Population Authority does not meet the requirements of the law, is unreasonable, especially when it comes to such a long time," wrote the commissioner.
In response to the report, the Population Authority admitted that this issue has "many operational implications that will affect the authority's ability to fulfill its purpose, impact day-to-day work, have a direct impact on the service to citizens and the authority's capabilities to fulfill its responsibilities."
The authority stated that it would work to amend the existing legislation in order to allow the authority to continue storing the photos once a government was formed. (The response was made before the current government was formed.)
The commissioner stressed that any such legislation must take into account aspects of the project involving multiple bodies, especially the existence of two parallel biometric databases in the Population Authority and the National Biometric Database Authority.
The report also detailed a series of other issues with the Population Authority and the National Biometric Database Authority as well.
The commissioner bemoaned that his unit regularly encounters difficulties in supervising the National Biometric Database Authority, with repeated delays in transferring documents, which affects work routines.
"This state of affairs makes it difficult for the commissioner to fulfill his duties under the law," wrote the commissioner, calling on the Interior Ministry to intervene to fix these issues.
The National Biometric Database Authority responded that difficult tasks demanded by the commissioner and supervision which is not conducted transparently make it difficult for the authority to carry out its duties.
The commissioner additionally pointed out that the biometric comparison system is also supposed to be regularly calibrated and was planned to be calibrated by June 2020, but had not been calibrated as of June 2021.
Additionally, the workplan of the National Biometric Database Authority for 2021 had still not been transferred to the commissioner as of June 2021. The authority responded that it had transferred the main points of the plan to the commissioner and held discussions with the commissioner on the matter. The commissioner clarified that the authority is meant to provide a written work plan, not just a version provided verbally in discussions.
The report also pointed to the fact that the biometric comparison system in Israel is meant to be based solely on facial pictures without fingerprints by May 2022. While the authority provided a long term and short term solution to ensure this occurs, the commissioner warned that there are "significant project risks" with the proposed solutions which will likely cause delays, including issues with procurement, budgets and legal issues.
"The authority must prepare for all possible scenarios, including the end of the temporary order before the completion of the medium-term preparations and the non-extension of the temporary order by the Knesset," read the report.