Tuesday, May 15, 2012

European Data Protection Authorities Adopt Opinion on Developments in Biometric Technologies


From the press release:   "The European data protection authorities represented in the Article 29 Working Party have adopted an opinion on recent developments in biometric technologies.  Biometric systems however use unique properties of an individual, such as fingerprints, vein patterns and DNA. While a person’s biometric data can be deleted or altered, the source from which they have been extracted can in general neither be altered nor deleted. Therefore biometric technologies pose specific risks to the privacy and data protection of the individual concerned…. In addition, many types of biometric data can be collected without the individual’s cooperation or knowledge, such as through video surveillance and facial recognition systems, and many violations could occur unnoticed." Read more

See also
Article 29 Data protection Working Party, adopted by Directorate C (Fundamental Rights and Union Citizenship) of the European Commission, Directorate General Justice, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium, April 27, 2012.