Rubio Flags Chinese Biometrics Vendor, Tinder Faces BIPA Suit, and Google Preps Digital ID: 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:

Sen. Rubio Flags Chinese Facial Recognition Firm for Sanctions

Senator Marco Rubio has sent a letter to the White House asking authorities to determine whether Tiandy, a China-based company, should be placed on a sanctions list. Tiandy, which sources processors from Intel, has provided surveillance cameras to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and has also provided facial recognition technology to Chinese authorities for use in identifying members of the country’s minority Uyghur population. Responding to an inquiry from NBC News, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said, “We don’t preview sanctions,” adding that the US government “will continue to hold persons and entities accountable for supporting human rights violations by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) and Iran.”

TSA Rolls Out Face-scanning Kiosks

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has now deployed CAT-2 face-scanning terminals at 16 airports, reports The Washington Post. In addition to the Denver International Airport, where the CAT-2 kiosk is also supporting Apple’s mobile ID checks, the terminals have been deployed in Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Biloxi, Jackson, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami, Phoenix, San Jose, and Salt Lake City.

Nigerian State to Pursue Biometric Enrolment of Students

The governor of the Nigerian state of Edo has announced that a biometric student enrollment program “will be pursued vigorously by the Ministry of Education.” The move is part of a number of measures aimed at establishing higher standards for education in the region, including the enforcement of minimum property sizes for schools and the implementation of certain basic examinations for students.

Armenia to Upgrade Biometric Passports

The Armenian government is looking to improve its biometric passports. In a meeting of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security of the National Assembly, the deputy head of the Republic Police announced that the issuance of the country’s biometric passports will be suspended until January 1, 2024, with authorities looking to develop a more secure passport in the meantime.

Chennai Deploys Biometric Time and Attendance System

The civic body that governs the Indian city of Chennai has implemented a biometric time and attendance system for its employees. Greater Chennai Corporation says the facial recognition system has already been installed at 315 locations. The Corporation employs a workforce of nearly 15,000 employees.

Tinder Matches With BIPA Lawsuit

Tinder and its parent company Match Group are facing a lawsuit over Tinder’s use of face biometrics to verify the identities of end users. The lawsuit claims that the dating app did not properly obtain users’ consent to collect their biometrics, and did not adequately inform them about its retention and disposal policies concerning the data, as required under BIPA.

Manila Airport Prepares to Launch Face-scanning Security

The Manila International Airport Authority is planning to operationalize facial recognition systems at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in by the new year. The hardware has already been deployed, and MIAA General Manager Cesar Chiong is reportedly working with the National Bureau of Investigation on the deployment, which will be used to automatically identify wanted criminals.

Former Facebook, Dropbox Exec Named Veriff’s VP of Product

Veriff has named Suvrat Joshi as its new Senior Vice President of Product, a role in which he will oversee product strategy and the development of next-generation solutions. Joshi has previously worked in product-related roles with Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Dropbox. He comes to Veriff after a two-year term with digital logistics specialist FarEye, where he served as Chief Product Officer.

Unioncommunity Embraces CyberLink’s Facial Recognition Tech

CyberLink has established a partnership with the biometrics specialist Unioncommunity that will see its FaceMe facial recognition solution integrated into the latter’s UBio-X Face Premium access control terminal. It’s an unusual move; prior to the partnership, Unioncommunity already counted facial recognition among its core technologies, alongside fingerprint and iris recognition. In a statement announcing their collaboration, the companies explained that FaceMe would enhance the capabilities of the UBio-X Face Premium system, enabling it to scan individuals from a greater distance and without requiring them to stop at an entrance, and to scan multiple individuals simultaneously.

Wearable Sensors Can Track Speech, Facial Expressions

Researchers at China’s Tsinghua University have developed a flexible sensor featuring nanofibers that can measure tiny vibrations in human skin, enabling arrays of sensors to gauge things like facial expressions and eye movements when applied to an individual’s face. The sensors were designed to predict what the wearer is saying based on mouth movements, without relying on speech recognition.

Google Prepares Digital ID Rollout

Google is preparing to follow through with a beta launch of its own digital ID solution, suggests a technical document pertaining to a Google Play System update slated for this month. As XDA Developers notes, the partial changelog includes a “Beta feature to allow users from selected US state(s) to digitize their state ID/driver’s license into the Google Wallet for convenient, private and secure presentation.”

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December 2, 2022 – by Alex Perala