What biometric modalities (fingerprint, face, iris) does Paraguay's digital ID collect and why?
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Executive summary
Paraguay’s Law No. 7177/2023 establishes a legal basis for government-recognized digital identity credentials, but reporting and NGO analysis leave open exactly which biometric modalities the new digital ID collects; TEDIC’s brief flags fingerprints, iris and facial biometrics as public concerns in Paraguay’s rollout [1], while regional digital-ID programs and Mercosur interoperability work show heavy use of facial biometrics in practice elsewhere [2]. Available sources do not provide an official, detailed roster from Paraguayan authorities enumerating which modalities (fingerprint, face, iris) are mandatory in the national digital ID scheme [3] [1].
1. What the law and civil-society reporting actually say
Paraguay passed Law No. 7177/2023 to recognise government-issued digital identity credentials; human-rights NGO TEDIC warns the law lacks accompanying regulation and calls for limits on biometric collection and safeguards against misuse [3] [1]. TEDIC’s analysis explicitly frames fingerprints, iris and facial recognition as the biometric modalities under discussion in Paraguay — noting prior public debate and concern about “huella dactilar, iris y reconocimiento facial” — but the NGO’s report is an argument for safeguards rather than an authoritative government technical specification [1].
2. No single authoritative public list in the reporting
Contemporary press and NGO material highlight the risk of fingerprint, face and iris data being used or sought for ID and electoral purposes, but none of the provided sources includes an official Paraguayan government document that lists which modalities are collected, which are mandatory, or how they are stored and shared [3] [1]. In short: civic watchdogs report the modalities of concern; government-level technical details are not found in current reporting [3] [1].
3. Why those three biometrics are the focus of debate
Fingerprints, facial images and iris scans are the most widely adopted biometric traits globally for identity, so they attract scrutiny where countries digitize IDs. TEDIC frames fingerprints, iris and face biometrics as especially sensitive because their collection can enable surveillance, discrimination of marginalized groups, and coercive conditioning of access to services — problems the NGO says Paraguay’s law does not yet mitigate with adequate safeguards [1] [3].
4. Regional context: face biometrics are already central to cross‑border plans
Mercosur’s digital-ID work and IDB/GEALC initiatives emphasize cross-border interoperability and show practical uptake of facial biometrics in neighboring countries: the Mercosur Digital Citizen initiative cites a high level of facial-biometric use on mobile IDs (e.g., Brazil’s CNH where 43% of users use facial biometrics on their devices) and signals plans to make national digital IDs usable across Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay [2]. That regional momentum explains why face biometrics are prominent in debates about Paraguay’s scheme [2].
5. What NGOs want: regulatory limits and technical safeguards
TEDIC’s recommendations include requiring limitations on biometric collection, protections against unauthorized access, mechanisms for correction and deletion, transparency and public participation, and alignment with international standards — pointing to gaps in Paraguay’s current privacy policy environment and the need for risk assessments before biometric data systems expand [3] [1].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas
Government and development actors promote digital ID for service access and cross‑border convenience; industry actors push biometric-enabled solutions for fraud reduction and interoperable credentials [2]. TEDIC and civil-society groups push back, prioritizing civil-rights safeguards and warning about police control of identity functions in Paraguay’s context, where the civil registry remains linked to police identification services — an institutional setup NGOs treat as a structural risk [3] [1].
7. Bottom line for readers seeking clarity
If you need a definitive list of which biometric modalities Paraguay’s digital ID collects, current public sources do not provide an authoritative government specification; watchdog reporting identifies fingerprints, iris and facial data as the primary concerns and urges regulatory safeguards [1] [3]. For concrete technical detail or operational rules — which modalities are mandated, optional, stored centrally or tokenized, or shared across Mercosur — seek the implementing regulations that TEDIC says have not yet been issued or published [3] [1].