Afghan panic over digital footprints spurs call for data collection rethink

A file photo of a baby being handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug 19, 2021. — OMAR HAIDARI/via Reuters

Concerns about sensitive data falling into the hands of the Taliban after they took control of Afghanistan have rekindled a debate among privacy experts on the ethics of data collection by aid agencies and multilateral institutions.

As the insurgents moved into the capital, Kabul, on Aug 15, residents fretted that biometric databases maintained by aid agencies and security forces could be used to track and target them.