Might BIPA Actually Get Watered Down?

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

Illinois Senate Passes Significant BIPA Amendment

The Illinois Senate has advanced significant amendments to the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The amendment, Senate Bill 2979, proposes that violations be counted based on the initial collection of biometric data (such as fingerprints), rather than counting each subsequent use of the data as a separate offense. This legislative shift comes in response to the Illinois Supreme Court’s suggestion for clarification following their ruling on a case involving White Castle, in which the potential for extensive penalties under the existing framework was noted. The bill passed the Senate with a bipartisan majority in a 46-13 vote, and now moves to the House for further consideration.

Chinese AI Companies Have Been Lobbying U.S.: Report

Entities designated as “Chinese military companies” by the Pentagon have spent over $24 million since 2020 lobbying the U.S. government, particularly to influence policies affecting their operations in biometric and facial recognition technologies, according to a new report. Megvii, a prominent developer of artificial intelligence and facial recognition software, is among them. Implicated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for its role in surveillance activities targeting ethnic minorities in China, Megvii spent $770,000 between 2020 and 2022 lobbying various U.S. government departments. The lobbying effort is part of a broader push by Chinese military-affiliated companies like Huawei and DJI, which also include biometric surveillance technologies in their portfolios, to mitigate the impacts of U.S. legislative actions that could restrict their operations due to concerns over national security and human rights abuses.

Login.gov to Pilot Biometric IDV

Login.gov, managed by the General Services Administration (GSA), will launch a pilot program in May that incorporates biometric technology for identity verification. The biometric feature will allow users to match a “live selfie” with their photo ID, such as a driver’s license, to verify their identity. It’s part of Login.gov’s broader strategy to enhance its anti-fraud capabilities and align with National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines, particularly Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2). The pilot will initially be available to select agency partners, with plans to expand participation over the summer. The GSA also expects to complete a third-party assessment of its IAL2 compliance later in the year.

Researchers Use Biometric Wearables to Map Stress and Sleep Links

Researchers from the University of Vermont have published a study on using wearable technology, specifically Oura rings, to detect stress levels in individuals during their sleep. Published in PLOS Digital Health, the study is part of the Lived Experience Measured Using Rings Study (LEMURS), which tracks biometric data of first- and second-year college students around the clock. The research found significant correlations between various sleep metrics—such as total sleep time, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and respiratory rate—and perceived stress levels. For instance, every additional hour of sleep decreased the odds of reporting moderate-to-high stress by 38 percent, while each increase in resting heart rate per minute raised the odds of experiencing stress by 3.6 percent. This is the first peer-reviewed output from LEMURS.

IdRamp Teams With CLEAR on Digital Sign-In

IdRamp has partnered with CLEAR to bring the latter’s biometric identity verification technology to logical access control. Their joint “Sign In With CLEAR” reusable identity authentication service is meant to simplify the authentication process by allowing over 20 million already verified CLEAR users to prove their identity effortlessly, supporting multi-factor, passwordless, and biometric authentication methods. It’s designed for applications ranging from enterprise and consumer identity to public sector use. In a statement, the companies promise “zero-code deployment and easy integration with existing services and systems.”

HID Global Makes Mobile Access Progress

HID Global has deepened its push into mobile access technology. It has announced the “OMNIKEY SE Reader Core module”, a solution that is meant to bring support for mobile credentials to access control readers. And in collaboration with Cohesion and Smart Spaces, HID has brought mobile credentials to the Google Wallet app on Android mobile devices. Read our full story on the latter; and head over to Mobile ID World to learn more about the OMNIKEY SE Reader Core solution.

Paravision Teams With AI Chipmaker

Paravision has announced a partnership with Hailo, a chipmaker specializing in edge device applications. Their collaboration will bring Paravision’s facial recognition technology to Hailo’s processors. In announcing the partnership with Hailo, Paravision highlighted the latter’s Hailo-8 AI accelerator chip and its Hailo-15 family of computer vision processors. “By harnessing Hailo’s breakthrough technology, Paravision’s face recognition products will bring real-time, high-precision face recognition to edge devices such as smart cameras, IoT devices, and access control systems,” the company said. Read our full story.

Google Enables Biometric Verification on Play Store

Google is updating the purchase verification process on the Play Store, enabling users to use biometric verification—such as fingerprint sensors or facial recognition—instead of entering their Google account password when confirming purchases. The tweak aims to streamline the verification process, making it quicker and easier. Currently, the initial setup of biometric verification still requires a password, but this requirement will be eliminated with the upcoming update. Google plans to roll out the change in the coming weeks, although it will only apply to transactions made through the Google Play billing system.

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April 12, 2024 – by Alex Perala and the FindBiometrics Editorial Team