Reasons behind Government's Decision to Stop Practice of Partially Masking NRIC Numbers

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) what is the rationale for the Government's intention to stop the practice of partially masking NRIC numbers and why at the present time; and (b) whether the era of artificial intelligence and machine learning has accelerated the likelihood of organisations reverse engineering significant portions of the NRIC database through scraping and collating existing personal data collections, including lucky draw registrants and customer lists from the pre-PDPA era.

This Parliamentary Question will be addressed through a Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Digital Development and Information during the Parliament Sitting on 8 January 2025. [Please refer to "Responsible Use of NRIC Numbers", Official Report, 8 January 2025, Vol 95, Issue 149, Ministerial Statements section.]