Singapore's use of facial verification in ID scheme stirs privacy fears

Singapore's more than four million residents will have to use facial verification technology to access government services through the national identity scheme. — Roslan Rahman/AFP

BANGKOK: Singapore's more than four million residents will have to use facial verification technology to access government services through the national identity scheme, a move criticised as intrusive and heavy-handed by privacy advocates.

Facial verification, which works by scanning someone's face and matching it with a database image, is already used widely to unlock smartphones and access bank accounts, but Singapore is the first state to use it in a national ID scheme.