ANALOGICAL IDENTITY: BIOMETRICS, GEOLOCATION, AND METADATA
ᴬⁿᵃˡʸᶻᵉ ʰⁱˢᵗᵒʳʸ ᵗᵒ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳˢᵗᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖʳᵉˢᵉⁿᵗ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵃⁿᵗⁱᶜⁱᵖᵃᵗᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᵘᵗᵘʳᵉ
Pass Law and the “Dompas.” South Africa, 1952.
Background on Digital Identity
Under apartheid, black citizens were required to carry the “Dompas,” an identity book containing fingerprints, employment history, and travel permits.
Dompas is an Afrikaans word that literally means “stupid pass” (dom = stupid/foolish, pas = pass).
It functioned as a physical geolocation system. The state monitored and restricted movement in real time; if the “identity” (the pass) did not have the correct stamp to be in a white zone, the person was immediately arrested.
Ironically called the “Pass Abolition Act,” it actually consolidated multiple documents into a single Reference Booklet that was mandatory for all black men (and later women) over the age of 16.
Primitive biometrics: The government created a Central Reference Office that archived the fingerprints of almost the entire black population, linking them to their documents.
Complete history: The booklet not only had a photo; it recorded employment history, tax payments, and police permits. The employer had to sign it monthly; if the signature was missing, the person lost their legal status.
Surveillance: “Statutory Crime”
The system created crimes that existed only because of flaws in documentation.
Influx Control: The pass dictated which urban areas (“white zones”) you could be in and for how long (usually 72 hours without a work permit).
Random checks: The police could stop any Black person on the street and demand to see the book. Not having it, or having the wrong stamp, resulted in immediate arrest, forced labor, or deportation to rural areas.
Why it violated privacy
The state eliminated anonymity in public space. Your physical identity was tied to a centralized database that determined your right to move. The government knew where you worked, whether you had paid your taxes, and whether you had “permission” to be on the sidewalk where you were standing.
