Clearview’s BIPA Case, Fraudulent Prison Guards, and More – 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:

Clearview Settles BIPA Suit ‘In Principle’

Clearview AI has reached a settlement “in principle” in a class action lawsuit alleging that the company violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), according to a new court filing. The plaintiffs’ counsel is “working on the motion for approval of [the] settlement,” and an in-person hearing is slated for January 23rd of next year. Clearview built its facial recognition system by trawling the internet for face images, and the plaintiffs argue that this violated BIPA’s requirement that companies obtain written consent for the collection of biometric data.

Indian Prison Guards Fired After Biometric Checks

Fifty employees of one of India’s largest prisons, Tihar Jail, have reportedly been fired after biometric identity verification determined that they likely had impostors write their civil service exams. Their biometric data did not match the data collected during the examination process by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSB). The terminated employees have one month to respond to appeal the decision.

Clear Comes to Rhode Island

Clear has brought its biometric expedited screening program to Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. In addition to helping travelers move through airport screening more quickly thanks to biometric identity verification, the deployment is expected to create 28 jobs and generate$1.5 million annually in the local economy, according to Clear. The company’s screening system currently uses fingerprint and iris scans to authenticate its subscribers, but a pivot to facial recognition is planned for next year, thanks to the introduction of a new system dubbed “NextGen Identity+”.

Fortress Payments Launches Biometric Platform for Merchants

Fortress Payments, a Miami-based startup, has announced the launch of FortressPay, a biometric payments system based on facial recognition. On its website, the company explains that it is starting to roll out the solution with online merchants, and that it will support in-store payments “soon”. Fortress Payments was founded in late 2021 by Alessandro Chiarini, who has been working to build the startup while continuing to serve as SVP of Enterprise Authentication for Aware, Inc. Fortress Payments worked with SoftwareOne to build its newly announced platform, with the latter providing “the necessary redundancy and compliance to ensure the platform was enterprise ready,” according to SoftwareOne Global Partner Channel Business Lead Rodrigo Eleoterio.

Circle’s MFA Solution Comes to Auth0 Marketplace

Circle Security’s Credential-Free Authentication solution is now available on the Auth0 Marketplace. The solution relies on an end user’s smartphone, leveraging its biometric authentication capabilities and its unique device signature to authenticate the user. It also leverages a form of behavioral biometrics, monitoring how the user interacts with their device and applying cryptographic techniques to create a unique signature for those behaviors. The Auth0 Marketplace, meanwhile, is a collection of vetted security solutions to support Okta’s Customer Identity Cloud, with Circle’s solution being the latest addition.

Trulioo Provides IDV Tech for Investing Platform

Trulioo has revealed that it is providing identity verification technology for Public, a US-based investing platform that covers both stocks and crypto, among other types of assets. Public is leveraging Person Match, a system that checks end users’ personal data against “optimal data sources” to confirm their identity. The newly-announced partnership goes back months, at least; in announcing it, Trulioo said that it had aided in “Public’s successful U.K. launch in July 2023”. The news comes after Trulioo’s announcement in October that it was providing its Person Match and Identity Document Verification tools to J.P. Morgan Payments.

BioConnect to Launch Latest Enterprise Solution

BioConnect will launched the latest version of its enterprise-focused platform, BioConnect Enterprise 5.3, this month. The company says that the platform is designed to help organizations meet state-specific regulations like BIPA and the California Consumer Privacy Act, and that it will allow them to seamlessly add biometric devices to their access control systems—including BioStation 3, its new facial recognition device. BioConnect announced a “sales and support” partnership with Suprema America earlier this year.

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December 4, 2023 – by Alex Perala