The State Duma adopted in the final reading the law on the procedure for the operation of a unified system of biometric personal data in the Russian Federation.

The law regulates relations arising from the operation, modernization and development of the state information system “Unified System for Identification and Authentication of Individuals persons using biometric personal data”, as well as when it interacts for the purpose of authentication with information systems of accredited state bodies, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the event of its accreditation, organizations performing authentication based on biometric personal data of individuals.

The provisions of the law do not apply to relations arising from operational-investigative, counter-intelligence or intelligence activities; defense of the country, ensuring the security of the state and law enforcement, the implementation of foreign policy; functioning of the state system of migration and registration records, as well as the production, execution and control of the circulation of identity documents, the law says.

The law provides for the creation of a list of types of collected biometrics; there are only two of them: a face image and a voice sample. “This rule is expected to be valid until September 1, 2024, but changing this list, based on the text of the bill, is possible only by the government at the proposal of the Coordinating Council, which is formed by the government with the obligatory inclusion of representatives of the public, centralized religious organizations,” – said earlier the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Alexander Khinshtein.

The law introduces a ban on the forced collection of biometrics, establishes that a citizen's refusal to give biometrics cannot affect the provision of any state, municipal services to him. A procedure is being introduced for a citizen to refuse to submit biometrics, this can be done in writing through any branch of the MFC, Khinshtein noted.

According to him, the right of a citizen to withdraw at any time the consent given by him to the processing of his biometrics is also prescribed – all these actions can also be performed by parents in relation to their minor children.

In addition, a mechanism has been defined for a citizen to check information about previously given consent to the processing of biometrics, as well as all actions performed with his biometric data – “now a person will be able to go to public services, to his page, and see everything that happened with his biometric data,” said the head of the committee.

“We prohibit the collection of genomic information. It is also established that the collection of biometric information of minors under 18 years of age is possible only with the consent of parents or their guardians,” Khinshtein said.

A ban is introduced on the cross-border transfer of collected biometrics, it is indicated that storage of biometrics is allowed only in databases located on the territory of the Russian Federation, the possibility of foreign participation in the processing and storage of biometrics is excluded, the chairman of the committee said.

According to the law, the regional segment will not be an independent structural unit, but will become an integral part biometric system.

The requirements for operators of the regional segment establish that only state institutions or state unitary enterprises can be such.

Earlier, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin noted in his telegram channel that in during consideration in the State Duma, the bill was significantly changed, and the next step will be the introduction criminal and administrative liability for the forced collection and leakage of biometric data.