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Voices of Millions of UK Taxpayers Stored By HMRC (bbc.co.uk)

Posted by BeauHD on from the can-you-hear-me-now dept.

AmiMoJo shares a report from BBC: The voices of millions of taxpayers have been analyzed and stored by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) without consent, privacy campaigners say. Big Brother Watch says HMRC's Voice ID system has collected 5.1 million audio signatures and accuses the department of creating "biometric ID cards by the back door." The Voice ID scheme, which was launched last year, asks callers to repeat the phrase "my voice is my password" to register. Once this task is complete, they can use the phrase to confirm their identity when managing their taxes.

3 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Sneaky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    "My voice is my passport", surely?

  2. Re:Oh come on now, that's just dumb. by raburton · · Score: 5, Informative

    Problem is, or at least was, that it was not optional (not when I last called them and was "invited" to enroll anyway). Well, technically it might have been because I simply refused to speak when I was told to and after several prompts it gave up, but there was no indication that you could opt-out and so most people probably did as they were told by the recorded instructions. Consent isn't valid if it's only given under coercion, if people only do it because they have to (or think they have to) then they haven't consented.

  3. Re:Without consent? by currently_awake · · Score: 3, Informative

    You should not use biometrics for access control. Using biometrics is like having a really long password, and writing it on your shirt. Anyone who wants to can copy your voice and gain access. And once compromised there is no way to change your password.