The Risks Involved upon the Use of Biometric Data and Biometric Systems
This Chapter describes how biometric data processing operations are like ‘Pandora’s box’. Once the data are collected, they can be stored and used not only for recognizing individuals, but also for identifying citizens. The data are further fit as unique
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The Risks Involved upon the Use of Biometric Data and Biometric Systems
4.1
The Risks which Relate to the Nature Itself of Biometric Data
3. We explain and demonstrate in this Chapter the risks of biometric data processing. Some of these risks were referred to in a brief manner by the Article 29 Working Party, including in their Working document on biometrics1 and the EDPS in relation with some large-scale biometric systems operated in the Union. A few national parliaments discussed the issue of the risks of biometric data processing as well, for example in France2 shortly before the modification of their national data protection legislation in 2004, but parliamentary debates remain overall very limited.3 The risks are nevertheless obvious as indicated in multiple publications and studies, which warn for the use of biometric systems.4 Because these risks 1
WP 29, Opinion on Biometrics 2003 (WP80). For France, see Office Parlementaire d’évaluation des choix scientifiques et technologiques, Rapport sur les méthodes scientifiques d’identification des personnes à partir de données biométriques et les techniques de mise en oeuvre, Cabal, Ch. (ed.), Assemblée National N° 938, Sénat, N° 355, June 2003, 70 p. (part 1), 57 p. (part 2), 105 p. (part 3) (‘Office of the Parliament for the Evaluation of the Scientific and Technological Choices, Report about the scientific methods of identification of persons based on biometric data and the used technologies, 2003’). 3 See, for example also the Netherlands, where on 9 June 2009, the same day when new legislation for central storage of ePassport biometric data was adopted, some critical questions were asked during the parliamentary debate. M. Snijder, Biometrisch Paspoort in Nederland: Crash of zachte landing, Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid, Webpublicatie nr. 51, 2010, pp. 118– 123 (‘Snijder, Crash of zachte landing, 2010’). See also E. Kindt, ‘Biometrie ? Hoog tijd voor een debat’, Computerrecht 2006, p. 80 (‘Kindt, Biometrie ? Hoog tijd voor een debat, 2006’). 4 For example, Irish Council, Biometrics, 2009, 170 p.; JRC, Report Large-scale Biometrics Deployment, 2008, 135 p.; De Hert, Background paper, 2005, 39 p.; Council of Europe, Progress report, 2005, 26 p.; OECD, Biometric based technologies, 2004, 66 p.; see also EPIC, Comments to the FTC. Face Facts, 2012, and Lynch, What Facial Recognition Technology Means 2012. However, many other reports, which are further referenced throughout this work, contain similarly an analysis without going into too much detail and warn for the risks of the use of biometric system. 2
E.J. Kindt, Privacy and Data Protection Issues of Biometric Applications: A Comparative Legal Analysis, Law, Governance and Technology Series 12, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7522-0_4, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
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The Risks Involved upon the Use of Biometric Data and Biometric Systems
need to be addressed with priority5 – as some are most critical – and for a clear view on how these risks endanger the fundamental
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