Following our investigation into HMRC’s collection of voice biometrics from millions of unsuspecting UK taxpayers under their ‘Voice ID’ programme, we reported it to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a breach of data protection law. HMRC has now been told by the ICO to delete 5 million of these records which were obtained unlawfully, without people’s consent.
Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, said:
“This is a massive success for Big Brother Watch, restoring data rights for millions of ordinary people around the country.
“To our knowledge, this is the biggest ever deletion of biometric IDs from a state-held database. This sets a vital precedent for biometrics collection and the database state, showing that campaigners and the ICO have real teeth and no government department is above the law.”
BBC – HMRC forced to delete five million voice files
Also: The Register – UK taxman falls foul of GDPR, agrees to wipe 5 million voice recordings used to make biometric IDs