NY Attorney General Takes Aim at Madison Square Garden: 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:

NY Attorney General Takes Aim at Madison Square Garden

New York Attorney General Letitia James has sent a letter to Madison Square Garden Entertainment demanding the provision of documentation related to the company’s practice of barring attorneys involved in disputes against the company from entering its venues. The development comes after one such lawyer was ejected from the Radio City Music Hall in December after being spotted by the venue’s facial recognition system, provoking outrage and drawing scrutiny over the biometric surveillance system.

Korean Human Rights Commission Warns About Facial Recognition

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has formally asked the country’s National Assembly and its Prime Minister to promote privacy legislation concerning the use of facial recognition technology. The request comes shortly after news of plans to implement a security system at government buildings that would use facial recognition to match individuals to their ID cards. The NHRCK also asked the Prime Minister to stop such deployments until proper privacy legislation has been implemented.

CLEAR Comes to North Carolina

CLEAR’s expedited traveler screening system has come to North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham International Airport, enabling those who register their biographic and biometric data in the program to pass more quickly through security screening. RDU is the 50th airport at which the CLEAR platform is operational. Meanwhile, the company has also been bringing its program to entertainment venues in order to facilitate easier access and even biometric purchases.

WV County Mulls Facial Recognition for Schools

West Virginia’s Marion County is considering the use of facial recognition to improve the security of its schools, according to a report from WDTV News. County officials are already testing out new metal detectors that were donated by the Marion County Commission, and are reportedly weighing further security enhancements for the district.

Anti-Fraud Startup Raises GBP 3.1 Million

UK startup Themis has raised GBP 3.1 million, or a little over $3.8 million, in an early funding round. The company is known for its “Themis Search and Monitoring” platform for fraud-focused identity screening. Among its features is a identity verification tool that uses facial recognition to match an individual to a piece of official ID. Themis says its 2022 revenues were up 57 percent year-over-year.

IDnow Names New CCO, VP of Sales

IDnow has named Bertrand Bouteloup as its new Chief Commercial Officer. Bouteloup had previously served as the VP of Sales at Ariadnext, which was acquired by IDnow in June of 2021. From there, he served as IDnow’s VP of Sales, a role that will now be given to Cyril Patou, who has previously served in executive positions at Ping Identity and at One Identity. In a statement announcing the change, IDnow explained that in his new position as CCO, Bouteloup “will assume the group-wide commercial end-to-end responsibility” for the company.

Prove Exec Talks FinTech and Healthcare

A new episode of the ID Talk Podcast tackles identity verification in financial services and healthcare. It’s a conversation between FindBiometrics Editor in Chief Peter Counter and Tim Brown, the Global Identity Officer for Prove, who has a number of insights to offer from his firm’s expertise in identity technology.

Baanx Banks On Veriff Onboarding

London-based Baanx, a crypto-focused financial services startup, is now using Veriff technology to confirm the identities of end users during its onboarding process. In a statement, Baanx CCO and CFO Mark Evans explained that his company is “more than aware that the crypto space attracts fraudsters, as they often take advantage of crypto’s decentralization to scam victims out of their funds,” adding that the current “bearish conditions” of cryptocurrency markets has made the risk of fraud “much higher.” Veriff has put the company in a strong position to address the threat, Evans said.

FPC Updates Finds Sign of Mobile Biometric Recovery

Fingerprint Cards has issued a corporate update for the 2022 fiscal year, illustrating the impact of sharply reduced smartphone demand in China. Revenues for the year came in at SEK 861.8 million, compared to revenues of about SEK 1.36 billion in 2021 – a 36 percent drop. But there were already signs of recovery as the Chinese economy began to reopen toward the end of the year, with CEO Ted Hansson noting that FPC’s Q4 sales were up 33 percent compared to the third quarter of 2022. While FPC has actively been exploring new opportunities in areas like access control and PCs, mobile sensor integrations continues to be a core business area for the company.

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January 26, 2023 – by Alex Perala

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