Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull hints at surveillance expansion

Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has hinted that the expansion of the nation's facial recognition databases could include private sector access.

Turnbull's statement came almost as an aside, under questioning by Sabra Lane on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's AM public affairs program. Lane quizzed the PM on his plan to ask states to integrate drivers' license photos into the national facial recognition system (which already captures passport images).

Lane asked Turnbull whether the facial recognition system might be used to monitor people in public places such as shopping malls, and he answered “it absolutely could be” – an application that would require either a huge expansion government-owned surveillance infrastructure, or the ability for private security companies to access the database.