Biometrics Institute Updates Privacy Guidelines to Reflect GDPR Standards

The Biometrics Institute has released new privacy guidelines for any and all organizations operating in the biometrics space. The universal guidelines are specifically written to ensure that biometrics researchers, manufacturers, and operators know how to handle people’s personal information responsibly.

While the Institute generally updates its privacy guidelines every two years, this is the first update that accounts for the newly implemented GDPR privacy regulations. The new guidelines reflect those more stringent policy requirements, and aim to address any gaps that are not necessarily captured by existing legislation.

The guidelines themselves detail 16 privacy principles, which were created through consultation with a panel of experts from around the world. They are particularly concerned with the safe gathering, processing, and storing of personal information, especially as modalities like fingerprint and facial recognition become more common at borders, on mobile devices, and in a range of other industries. 

By following the guidelines, biometrics organizations will be able to reduce discrimination, establish corporate best practices, and manage data in accordance with existing privacy laws. The Institute’s privacy guidelines are in keeping with its recently launched ethical guidelines, which were created to fulfill similar objectives.

The early support for those ethical principles also suggests a degree of enthusiasm for clear and comprehensive guidelines. The Institute’s latest policy should satisfy that demand and give companies a better view of the biometrics landscape moving forward.

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May 15, 2019 – By Eric Weiss