Privacy Concerns Arise as Singapore's ACRA Prematurely Unmasks National ID Numbers

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The Singapore government announced on Saturday that the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) prematurely implemented changes to reveal National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) numbers on its new Bizfile portal, acknowledging public privacy concerns.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) admitted there were coordination lapses in ACRA's December 9 launch of the portal, which allowed free public access to individuals' full NRIC numbers in search results.

"We acknowledge that coordination could have been better so that ACRA's move would not have run ahead of the government's intent," MDDI stated, explaining that the unmasking of NRIC numbers was supposed to follow a public education campaign.

ACRA also issued an apology, stating "We recognize that we moved ahead with unmasking before adequately preparing the ground." The authority has committed to refining the portal's features to strike a balance between corporate transparency and privacy protection.

The incident has sparked debate about the government's stance on NRIC numbers. While MDDI now argues these are "just identifiers" similar to names, this contrasts with Singapore's 2018 position when stricter rules were implemented under the Personal Data Protection Act to protect NRIC numbers from misuse.

Past incidents highlight real risks associated with exposed NRIC numbers. In 2019, former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian experienced harassment when his published NRIC number was used in repeated unauthorized attempts to access his SingPass account.

The government has indicated it will revise its approach to NRIC number masking practices. However, questions remain about the policy shift and planned safeguards to prevent misuse of this sensitive personal information.

Both MDDI and ACRA have pledged to address public concerns while working toward their transparency objectives in a more coordinated manner.