Private companies could have access to this country's facial recognition database

Signing up for a phone contract? Telecoms companies could be getting another way to check you're the right person.

When the Australian government announced in October it would add photos from government identification and driver's licences to a national facial recognition database, there was plenty of concern from privacy advocates on the security of this data, and how it would be used.

According to a report by The Guardian, the federal government has been in talks with telecommunications companies to allow them to access the Face Verification Service (FVS) for a fee.