Amazon and Papa John’s Can’t Escape BIPA: Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Amazon, Papa John’s Fail to Escape BIPA Lawsuits

Amazon will have to face a proposed class action lawsuit over its collection of biometric data in the video game NBA 2K. The lawsuit was brought by Ann Mayhall, who alleges that the game scanned her child’s biometric data without obtaining consent and providing the necessary disclosures under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Amazon’s motion to have the case dismissed has been rejected by the presiding judge.

Papa John’s also failed to escape from a proposed class action lawsuit under BIPA. The plaintiff alleges that Papa John’s franchisee Hoosier Papa LLC collected employees’ fingerprints in a biometric Point-of-Sale system without obtaining consent and providing the required disclosures. Papa John’s had tried to pin liability on the franchisee, an effort that has now been rejected in court.

Serbia Proposes Data Protection Strategy

The Serbian government has published a “Data Protection Strategy Proposal” aimed at harmonizing its domestic data protection rules with those of the European Union. Among other things, the proposal includes a measure requiring the Office for Information Technology and eGovernment to adopt laws governing the automated processing of biometric data collected through video and audio surveillance. The implementation of Serbia’s data protection measures will be coordinated by the Ministry of Justice.

WhatsApp to Get Biometric Chat Lock Feature

A new biometric security feature appears to be in the works for the popular messaging app WhatsApp, suggests a new beta update in the Google Play Store. The software features a new interface enabling users to lock an individual chat behind a PIN or fingerprint scan. It isn’t yet clear when the new privacy feature will reach a broader swath of WhatsApp users.

Yoti Details Age Estimation Tech

Yoti has published a new White Paper offering fine-grained analysis of the company’s age estimation technology. It also delivers some good news about the current state of Yoti’s art: The company reports that it has made progress in minimizing demographic disparities in the performance of the system, and that there is “no discernible bias across gender or skin tone for 13-17 year olds.” Its True Positive Rate for estimating that individuals aged 13-17 are under 25 is 99.93 percent. Yoti’s age estimation tech is being used by companies like Instagram, which recently rolled it out in the Canadian market.

Shufti Pro Teams With Matching App for Gyms

Wellness tech startup SpotterFitness has become the latest company to embrace identity verification technology from Shufti Pro. The company’s Spotter app, launched in 2020, is designed to connect users with the fitness facilities that are best suited to them, somewhat like a dating app for connecting people with gyms. And like many conventional dating apps, Spotter is now going to make use of AI-driven identity verification technology to confirm the identities of its users.

BMW Motorcycles to Get Biometric Ignition

BMW is bringing vehicular biometrics to motorcycles, announcing a new face- and iris-scanning system that will only release a bike’s steering lock and enable ignition when an authorized ride is recognized. Dubbed “iFace”, the system will use infrared scanning to operate in all lighting conditions, an a polarization filter to scan irises through tinted and mirrored helmet visors. BMW says it will showcase the system at a motorshow this autumn, and that iFace will initially launch in BMW’s Motorrad Boxer models planned for release later this year.

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April 3, 2023 – by Alex Perala

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