FTC Scrutiny, Samsung’s Biometric Card, and Another BIPA Virtual Try-On Case: 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:

AGs Call on FTC to ‘Consider Risks’ of Biometric Consumer Surveillance

A group of 33 Attorneys General have published an open letter calling on the Federal Trade Commission to “consider the risks of commercial surveillance practices that use or facilitate the use of facial recognition, fingerprinting, or other biometrics technologies.” The considerations were likely already on the docket; the letter is in response to the FTC’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security. But the group of Attorneys Generals, led by Maura Healey, who recently won in her bid to become Massachusetts Governor, will add political pressure to the FTC’s deliberations.

New JFK Terminal to Feature Biometric Access Control, Automated Screening

A new terminal planned for New York’s JFK International Airport will feature biometric access control systems and automated security lanes, according to a report from Homeland Security Today. Construction on Terminal 6 will begin next year, with the necessary approvals and financing now in place. Terminal 6 is a public-private partnership between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a consortium called JFK Millennium Partners, which includes real estate operator RXR, Vantage Airport Group, and JetBlue Airways. JetBlue had helped to pioneer a biometric boarding system at JFK as early as 2018, in partnership with US Customs and Border Protection.

Samsung’s Biometric Card Wins Innovation Award Ahead of CES 2023

Samsung’s S3B512C biometric smart card won a CES Innovation Award in the category of “Cybersecurity & Personal Privacy”. The annual CES Innovation Awards are bestowed before each year’s Consumer Electronics Show in January, drawing attention to interesting products ahead of the show. Samsung’s card features an embedded fingerprint sensor, and a Secure Element and processor on a single chip.

ID.me Misled IRS About Wait Times, Fraud, Says House Oversight Committee

Democrat members of the House Oversight committee are criticizing ID.me, the company that had been contracted by the IRS near the start of this year to provide identity verification services, and was then dropped over concerns about the use of facial recognition to identify taxpayers. Committee members allege that ID.me misled the IRS about the average length of wait times for individuals seeking manual identity verification, and that it overstated the costs of unemployment fraud. For its part, ID.me has issued a statement explaining that its fraud estimates were based on “our observations detecting and preventing identity fraud between 2020 and 2021,” adding, “ID.me recognizes fraud is a difficult number to pin down and provided our estimate as an additional data point.”

Seychelles Launches Biometric Passports

Seychelles has introduced a biometric passport for citizens. The passport features an embedded chip designed to securely house fingerprint and face biometrics, as well as digital signature elements. In a statement, Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan said the biometric passport’s launch marks “a new era” in immigration, adding, “It is a passport that will be secure and it will not be easy for someone to duplicate it.” The passport was provided by France’s Groupe Imprimerie Nationale, which won the contract for project at the end of last year.

Uttar Pradesh University to Mandate Biometric Attendance for Scholars

Allahabad University in India’s Uttar Pradesh province will implement a biometric student attendance tracking system, according to a report from Hindustan Times. The administration has issued a request for the biometric system through the government-run procurement portal Government e-Marketplace, and officials expect to have the system deployed within a couple of weeks. A representative of the university explained that the school is implementing the biometric time and attendance system “because the state government, which provides scholarships to students under different categories, needs to keep track of the students’ attendance.”

BIPA Ensnares Another ‘Virtual Try-On’ Defendant

The jewelry retailer Pandora has become the latest company to face a proposed class action lawsuit under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The retailer offers a ‘virtual try-on’ service that uses face biometrics technology to let consumers see how items of jewelry would look on them through a digital mock-up; the lawsuit alleges that Pandora failed to properly obtain end users’ consent for the collection of their biometric data through this tool. A number of companies, including major brands like Estée Lauder, have faced similar BIPA complaints over virtual try-on systems.

Precise Grew Q3 Revenues Despite Lower Phone Demand

Precise Biometrics has issued its update for the third quarter of 2022, reporting a year-over-year increase in revenues, which grew from SEK 16.9 million a year ago to SEK 18.8 million in the latest quarter. Its operating loss, meanwhile, deepened from a loss of SEK 2.97 million in Q3 of 2021 to a loss of SEK 7.34 million in the latest quarter. Commenting on the business update, CEO Patrick Höijer echoed some of the macro concerns cited in sensor maker Fingerprint Cards’ blunt Q3 report, acknowledging “a low global demand for mobile phones.” Höijer attributed Precise’s ability to raise revenues despite this trend as the result of its acquisition of access control specialist EastCoast Solutions, and said the firm has also taken cost control measures including a reduction in the contracting of consultants.

Incode Provides Remote Onboarding for Mexico’s Banorte

Selfie-based identity verification specialist Incode is now providing mobile onboarding technology for Banorte, one of Mexico’s largest financial services institutions. As deployed in Banorte’s mobile app, Incode’s solution is designed to match end users against National Electoral Institute (INE) database, enabling them to remotely open new Banorte accounts.

Pangea Wins Congo Anti-crime Contract

Pangea has won a contract to provide the Congo government with a biometric system for the issuance of ‘Certificates of Integrity’ attesting to citizens’ non-criminal records, and to provide an Automated Biometric Information System (ABIS) that will be accessible to more than 150 police stations across the country. The contract is reportedly valued at $70 million.

TECH5 Integrates ID R&D Voice Biometrics Into Digital ID Platform

TECH5 has integrated ID R&D’s IDVoice solution into its T5-Digital ID platform. The integration means that in addition to supporting fingerprint and face biometrics, the T5-Digital ID can now also capture voice biometrics through an end user’s mobile device. “Speaker recognition enables T5-Digital ID to support many new use cases, such as strengthened biometric verification of a customer for high-value transactions, or as an alternative authentication method when facial recognition is not feasible,” explained TECH5 co-founder and CTO Rahul Parthe. The announcement follows shortly after iPulse Systems’ launch of a voice recognition system built on IDVoice.

THG Ingenuity Adds Yoti’s Age Verification Tech to Platform

THG Ingenuity, the provider of a tech platform designs to help brands sell directly to consumers, has partnered with Yoti to enable age verification services for its clients. The company will leverage Yoti’s age estimation technology as well as its digital identity app and ID verification solution. In a statement, THG Ingenuity CEO Vivek Ganotra explained that the integration of Yoti’s technology “further extends THG Ingenuity’s capabilities as a unique, end-to-end eCommerce platform, which has proven to be a huge competitive advantage, helping our brand partners scale, expand and grow their DTC offerings.”

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November 18, 2022 – by Alex Perala