Biometric technology has long been used for security and law enforcement purposes such as national security watch lists, passport controls, criminal fingerprint databases, and immigration processing. Now, however, the private sector increasingly uses these systems as a verification method for authentication that previously required a PIN or password. Apple’s decision to include a fingerprint scanner in the iPhone in 2013 brought new public awareness to possible non-law-enforcement applications of biometric technologies, and the company’s shift to facial recognition access in the most recent models further normalized the concept. Biometric technology continues to be adopted in many sectors, including financial services, transportation, health care, computer systems and facility access, and voting. In many cases, this technology is more efficient, less expensive, and easier to use than traditional alternatives, while also eliminating the need for passwords, which are broadly recognized as an insufficiently secure safeguard for user data. However, as with any digital system, there are privacy concerns around the collection, use, storage, sharing, and analysis of the data that are generated by these systems.
Facial Recognition and Privacy
Facial Recognition is an exciting technology that promises a host of consumer benefits but also raises a range of privacy concerns. In order to help advance policy discussions around different uses of “computer vision,” we are releasing today a Facial Recognition Discussion Document. We hope the background review of current legal and policymaker guidance is […]
Looking at Privacy Protections for Facial Recognition
On Sunday, Google announced that it would not allow facial recognition applications on Google Glass until “strong privacy protections” were in place. But this announcement begs the very question: what sort of privacy protections can actually be put in place for this sort of technology? Thus far, concerns about facial recognition technology have appeared within the context […]
Swire Presents at FBI/DOD Sponsored Facial Recognition Forum
On Wednesday, March 14 FPF Senior Fellow Peter Swire gave a talk on “Facial Recognition by the Government: Privacy and Civil Liberties Issues.” The talk took place at the third installment in the U.S. Government Facial Recognition Legal Series. Wednesday’s forum was titled “Striking the Balance – A Government Approach to Facial Recognition Privacy and […]
Dec. 21, 2011 – Facebook To Notify Europeans On Facial Recognition, Investors.com
Amid concerns about user privacy in Europe and beyond, Facebook on Wednesday announced sweeping changes to its European data collection, including notifications on a controversial facial recognition feature. Along with having to notify European users three times about its opt-out facial recognition feature, Facebook will disclose “all personal data held (about users) on request,” says […]
Ubiquitous Biometrics
Guest Post from privacy expert Kathy Harman-Stokes Speakers at the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) 2010 Biometrics Conference emphasized the value of “ubiquitous biometrics.” For biometrics to become ubiquitous, one speaker said biometrics should be widely used for facilities access, by employers for time and attendance recording of employees, and customer identification for various transactions, […]