05 Mar Africa’s biometric adoption could spark privacy concerns

African governments are increasingly adopting biometric digital identification systems to manage access to public services, but a new report warns the programmes risk excluding millions of people and raising serious concerns about privacy, rights and accountability.

Biometric digital IDs collect citizens’ personal and physical data and are used to verify identity for services such as voting, healthcare, education and social protection. Governments often promote the systems as tools to improve efficiency, reduce fraud and expand access to services.

However, a report by the African Digital Rights Network, published by the Institute of Development Studies, highlights major risks linked to exclusion, weak legal protections and potential misuse of personal data.

Drawing on research across ten African countries, the report found that many citizens struggle to enrol in digital ID programmes, cannot reliably use them, or choose not to participate due to fear and mistrust.

Tony Roberts, co-editor of the report, said digital ID systems combine traditional personal information with biometric data to create machine-readable identities that can be verified remotely.

“Digital-ID is a form of identification that can hold large amounts of sensitive personal data. This includes biographic data like name, date of birth and address, as well as biometric data such as fingerprints and facial recognition,” he said. “What makes digital-ID distinct from paper-based IDs is that it is machine-readable. And, when it’s connected to the internet, millions of people can be identified and verified, instantly and remotely.”

Across Africa, biometric identification is increasingly being used to determine eligibility for services or rights. In some countries, fingerprint or iris scans are required during elections to confirm that a person is entitled to vote. But researchers warn that the systems can also create barriers to participation.

Millions of people face difficulties enrolling due to disability, illiteracy or lack of access to digital infrastructure such as mobile phones, internet data or reliable electricity. Researchers say these obstacles risk deepening existing inequalities across many African societies.

The report, coordinated by the African Digital Rights Network in collaboration with the non-profit organisation Paradigm Initiative, involved 75 digital rights researchers from 30 African countries.

It found that international funders and foreign technology companies often play a significant role in driving the adoption of digital ID systems.

The World Bank has argued that investments in digital identification support the UN Sustainable Development Goal of providing identity for all. However, the report suggests private vendors, donors and governments may also have interests in profit generation, data control or population surveillance.

Adoption of biometric ID varies widely across the continent. Ghana has registered about 19 million people, roughly 95 per cent of its adult population, through its GhanaCard system since 2017.

Ethiopia has enrolled around 28 million people, or about 35 per cent of the population, in the Fayda-ID scheme. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo still has no operational digital ID system despite legislation and repeated announcements since 2011.

In Senegal, biometric national ID cards introduced in 2016 are required to obtain a phone number, open a bank account or access public services such as electricity and water. Around 10 million citizens hold the cards, representing just over 90 per cent of the population aged 15 and over. That still leaves more than one million people without identification and, therefore, without access to key services.

Researchers warn that linking essential services to biometric systems risks turning universal rights into conditional entitlements. “One of the challenges is that universal human rights, which should be unconditional, become conditional on enrolment in a biometric digital-ID scheme,” Roberts said.

People with disabilities can struggle to register because biometric systems rely on fingerprints or iris scans. Some individuals cannot provide fingerprints due to amputation, disease, years of manual labour or old age, while others cannot complete iris scans because of vision problems.

Concerns also extend to privacy and data security. Because biometric characteristics are permanent, breaches or misuse of data could have long-term consequences.

The report found that eight of the ten countries studied have no laws specifically governing digital ID systems, and oversight mechanisms are often weak or absent. Without stronger legal safeguards and accountability, the researchers warn that the rapid expansion of biometric identification systems could deepen inequality and erode trust rather than deliver the promised benefits to the masses.