Keeping the momentum going from last week’s World Privacy Day, the Biometrics Institute has published a set of Biometrics Privacy Guidelines. The publication builds on the international non-profit’s Privacy Awareness Checklist.

In a statement announcing the Biometrics Privacy Guidelines, Biometrics Institute Chief Executive Isabelle Moeller explained that it’s meant “to provide a guide for suppliers, end users, researchers, managers and purchasers of biometric systems.” Recognizing that biometric technologies can come into play across a wide and diverse array of applications, industries, and fields, the report highlights sixteen key principles such as Proportionality, Informed Consent, and that Employee Biometric Data Must be Protected.

These last two issues have already proven salient with respect to high-profile controversies erupting over certain deployments of biometric technology. Facebook has been facing legal challenges, for example, over its collection of biometric data without having obtained the express consent of all individuals affected; and meanwhile city workers in San Francisco protested last year against the implementation of biometric attendance tracking at work, partly over concerns about the security of their personal data.

It isn’t in anybody’s interest to have such issues come into play, and as such the Biometrics Institute’s new Guidelines could offer a valuable resource to companies seeking to deploy biometric technologies with as little friction as possible.

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February 2, 2016 – by Alex Perala