Since the beginning of August, there has been a noticeable increase in demand for the service of refusing to collect and store biometric data of citizens in various regions of Russia.
According to Kommersant, the hype around this service started to gain traction in Bashkortostan since mid-August. The MFC of the republic reported that while they received 5,000 applications from “refuseniks” in July, the number increased to 14,000 in August. Similar trends have been observed in other regions as well. In Dagestan, for instance, 11,000 applications for the abandonment of biometric data were submitted in just ten days from August 21 to 30. This is a significant jump compared to the 4,000 applications received throughout the entire previous year. Meanwhile, the MFC of Udmurtia accepted 4,700 applications starting from August 24. In the Amur Region, the MFC received 1,600 applications from “refuseniks” on August 28.
Interestingly, many of the citizens applying for this service have never had their biometric data collected and were not present in any databases.
The reason behind this surge in activity is a message circulating on messengers claiming that the deadline to submit a “refusal” statement is August 31. Supposedly, citizens who fail to submit their statements within this timeframe will be monitored, forcefully photographed through ATM cameras, and have their votes recorded through calls from Rostelecom.
In an attempt to clarify the situation, government officials have been refuting these rumors over the past week. For instance, on August 26, the press service of Moscow State Services Centers announced “the absence of restrictions and the dissemination of false information.” Additionally, on August 25, the Center for Biometric Technologies (CBT) published instructions for the refusal procedure on their website.
The State Unified Biometric System (GIS EBS) was implemented in Russia in 2018, and the law regulating its operation was signed by President Vladimir Putin at the end of 2022. All organizations collecting biometric data, excluding banks and notaries, are required to transfer the data to the state system. Customers must also be notified at least 30 days in advance. Among these organizations, Sberbank has collected the largest volume of biometric data.
Since June 1, citizens have been able to submit applications for the “refusal to collect and post biometric data” at the MFC. The rules and submission form were approved in March 2023 by the Government of the Russian Federation (Dec