Italy’s privacy watchdog on Friday gave a cautious green light to a national database designed to tackle paedophilia and child pornography.
Responding to proposals drawn up by the Equal Opportunities Ministry, Privacy Authority chief Mauro Paissan said they appeared to conform with data protection laws.
But he stressed that any such bank should take every step possible to ensure the victims of child abuse remained anonymous.
[…]
The database, which aims to provide government authorities with tools to reduce offending and assist victims, would categorize information based on basic details such as the type of crime, the number of individuals involved and the geographic area.
While several countries already have such databases in existence, the Italian project is also planning to focus on how victims cope in the aftermath of such crimes.
The bank would include information about assistance provided to the victims of abuse during any subsequent trial, as well as details on support and protective measures designed to help children recover from such crimes.
Read more on Life in Italy.
Okay, so how long will it take researchers to be able to identify specific victims’ identities, despite protections the government plans to take to prevent identification? Looking at what they plan to record, it seems likely that identification might not be that difficult.
The database will only be available to government employees, but really, given how many databases get hacked or compromised, I would be particularly concerned about the security of this database.
Hat-tip, @UFO4U