Thailand is piloting a biometric data collection program across five provinces, seeking to streamline health services for Myanmar nationals and stateless people – the country’s most mobile population.


With biometric details, including facial and iris scans, collected from 10,000 people, the program has already garnered praise for alleviating concerns over the identification of migrants. Yet, its implementation has activists worrying about Thailand’s evolving privacy landscape.


At the heart of the project is the efficient allocation of HPV and COVID-19 vaccines – a logistical hurdle for the transient. The program is being spearheaded by the Department of Disease Control in partnership with the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center and the Thai Red Cross Society.


“[There are] maybe at least two or three times [doses] for each person. So we have to know whether this person already got a vaccination for the first time or the second time, so we can give the next dose properly,” said Chai Wutitiwatchai, the technology center’s director.


The plan is to compile a million profiles using iris and facial scans alongside personal data.


The provinces chosen, including Tak, Samut Sakhon and Prachuap Khiri Khan, are home to significant communities of Myanmar people, ranging from Civil Disobedience Movement activists – who quit their jobs to protest against military rulers – to asylum-seekers and laborers.


Declared a success by the Department of Disease Control, the office’s representatives told Thai media it could expand to other provinces.


Privacy concerns


Pichit Siriwan, the Red Cross’s deputy director of relief and the community health bureau, highlights the voluntary nature of the data provision, assuring that healthcare will not be denied to those uncomfortable with the process.


“The faces and irises of the undocumented patients who visit health service outlets or displaced persons in the temporary shelters who seek vaccination will be scanned or taken,” Pichit told Radio Free Asia, a news organizaion affiliated with BenarNews.


“Then we will acquire a 13-digit ID with the Mo Prom app. One can refuse if one feels not comfortable with that. They still can receive the service.”

Thailand is piloting a biometric data collection program across five provinces, seeking to streamline health services for Myanmar nationals and stateless people – the country’s most mobile population.


With biometric details, including facial and iris scans, collected from 10,000 people, the program has already garnered praise for alleviating concerns over the identification of migrants. Yet, its implementation has activists worrying about Thailand’s evolving privacy landscape.


At the heart of the project is the efficient allocation of HPV and COVID-19 vaccines – a logistical hurdle for the transient. The program is being spearheaded by the Department of Disease Control in partnership with the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center and the Thai Red Cross Society.


“[There are] maybe at least two or three times [doses] for each person. So we have to know whether this person already got a vaccination for the first time or the second time, so we can give the next dose properly,” said Chai Wutitiwatchai, the technology center’s director.


The plan is to compile a million profiles using iris and facial scans alongside personal data.


The provinces chosen, including Tak, Samut Sakhon and Prachuap Khiri Khan, are home to significant communities of Myanmar people, ranging from Civil Disobedience Movement activists – who quit their jobs to protest against military rulers – to asylum-seekers and laborers.


Declared a success by the Department of Disease Control, the office’s representatives told Thai media it could expand to other provinces.


Privacy concerns


Pichit Siriwan, the Red Cross’s deputy director of relief and the community health bureau, highlights the voluntary nature of the data provision, assuring that healthcare will not be denied to those uncomfortable with the process.


“The faces and irises of the undocumented patients who visit health service outlets or displaced persons in the temporary shelters who seek vaccination will be scanned or taken,” Pichit told Radio Free Asia, a news organizaion affiliated with BenarNews.


“Then we will acquire a 13-digit ID with the Mo Prom app. One can refuse if one feels not comfortable with that. They still can receive the service.”

Thailand’s fledgling privacy policy, as well as a major data leak in 2023, has left others uncertain about data security.


In March 2023, Supat from the Rural Doctor Society became a whistleblower on a leak of 55 million Thai citizen identities. At that time, the society claimed the leak occurred from a private developer of the Mo Prom app.


Data privacy law


Thailand passed its first and only data privacy law in 2022, but critics say it is still too weak to provide adequate protection.


It also has significant loopholes allowing data to be used and collected without explicit consent “for life-saving purposes, statistical research, public benefit or to protect one’s rights and interests,” if it is done “via contract and under the authority of law.”


“Although that’s a good kind of basic legislation, it’s actually not efficient enough,” said the Myanmar Internet Project spokesperson.


For some, the project was eerily similar to one carried out in Bangladesh. In a controversial U.N. case in 2021, nearly a million identities of Rohingya refugees were turned over to the Bangladesh and Myanmar officials, causing some to go into hiding.

In the past, registering directly with the Ministry of Public made some migrants uneasy, even if it was to receive basic public health services, said Chai from the technology center.


Going through a non-government organization makes some feel more comfortable.


“You know, they’re quite afraid of showing themselves to the state by making an official registration,” he added. “But if they’re just giving a picture of their face or even their iris pattern, they don’t much care about showing themselves to the public.”


The Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Disease Control did not respond to RFA’s inquiries as of this writing.

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