Transcript Privacy: Biometric Technology and Civil Liberties

Privacy: Biometric Technology
and Civil Liberties
Biometric technology is used because it relies upon
“highly reliable” characteristics which cannot change or
be lost. Eyes, face, DNA and fingerprints are so closely
tied to an individual that they cannot be lost or forgotten,
short of amputation or mutilation—and therein lies part
of the problem.
The very reasons that these traits are used—uniqueness
and permanence—are the reasons that they should are
dangerous. Harm to the individual’s right to security of
their person and property is at risk.
Problems with Biometric Technology
1. Identity theft takes on new proportions.
2. Use of biometrics increases the risk to an individual’s
person and property.
3. Civil liberties are threatened.
If someone receives your biometric information,
this information is compromised for life.
• “Biometrics is more private to you than a number that somebody assigned to you. I
cannot cancel my face,” said IBM research Nalini Ratha.
• There have been attempts to make distorted models of fingerprints so a hacker
could not access them, but the models are not foolproof.
• Once data is in a database, government or corporate, there is potential for it to be
misused.
• There is a big distinction between a credit card number being stolen and a genetic
identity being stolen—not just in uniqueness, but in potential for racism or other
genetically based discrimination.
Once means of security is linked to physical
person, physical person is put at risk.
• It’s not just about stealing passwords or decrypting information.
• Case in point: In 2005, K Kumaran of Subang Jaya in Malaysia lost a finger to
auto thieves taking his Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
• There is concern that information can be “skimmed” remotely by kidnappers,
terrorists, etc.
Biometric technology threatens civil liberties.
• Does the government really need to know this much about people?
• People may feel a sense of criminalization if biometric technology becomes
associated with everyday tasks.
• Different uses for biological identifiers may emerge in the future that were not
considered when the data was first collected.
“With the biometric passport, every country may have its own surveillance system,
accumulating fingerprints and face-scans and keeping them for as long as they wish
with no regard to privacy or civil liberties. Governments may claim that they are
under an international obligation to create national databases of fingerprints and
face scans but we will soon see nations with appalling human rights records
generating massive databases, and then requiring our own fingerprints and facescans as we travel.” – Dr. Gus Hosein, Privacy International.
Natalie Dawe, Sarah Howell, Carolyn Russell, Courtney Taylor, Lindsay White