Zuck Must Spill the Beans – 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:

Zuckerberg Must Testify in Texas Biometric Privacy Case

A judge in Texas has dismissed Meta’s request to exempt CEO Mark Zuckerberg from testifying in a lawsuit concerning the company’s collection of users’ biometric data. Texas has a biometric privacy law along similar lines to Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), but does not allow for private enforcement action. Instead, lawsuits must be brought by the state’s Attorney General, who launched the action against Meta in early 2022. In his new ruling, Justice Jeff Rambin of Texas’s Sixth Court of Appeals said that Zuckerberg must testify because he has “unique personal knowledge of discoverable information” related to the lawsuit.

New Partnerships for Biostrap, Fitbit

Labfront and Biostrap have entered into a strategic partnership. The former offers a data collection and analytics platform aimed at physiological research, while Biostrap has developed a biometric sensor solution that can collect clinical-grade photoplethysmography (PPG) data. The latter has also launched a new service called “Biostrap Waveshape” that “will democratize high-quality PPG features at the edge, opening up new possibilities for developing more precise, real-time AI-driven health models,” according to CEO Sameer Sontakey.

Fitbit, meanwhile, has teamed up with Quest Diagnostics in a partnership that will explore the potential of using wearable devices to improve metabolic health. Their Wearables for Metabolic Health (WEAR-ME) pilot will leverage the biometric sensors of Fitbit devices and Quest Diagnostics’ laboratory testing and analysis services. About 1,500 Fitbit users will be invited to participate over a three-month period, which will involve providing blood samples and consulting with third-party physicians.

Badge Launches No-Secrets Authentication Solution

San Francisco-based Badge has announced the public launch of its authentication solution, which is designed to let end users authenticate on any device with a face or fingerprint scan after a single, initial enrolment. The company also asserts that its solution does not require the storage of any “secrets”, including biometrics. Badge’s solution is now available on the Okta Marketplace and on the Auth0 Marketplace.

IDnow Brings Biometric IDV to British Fintech Startup

IDnow is providing a biometric onboarding system for Zorrz, a London-based fintech startup. Zorrz is preparing to launch its flagship product, the BlueAccess Card, a credit card meant specifically for individuals who usually face challenges in obtaining credit, such as immigrants, students, and those who have faced credit issues in the past. IDnow’s technology enables remote onboarding through facial recognition backed by liveness detection, comparing end users’ selfie photos to their digital ID.

authID Zooms Past Sales Goal

authID says it has achieved 1,200 percent growth year-over-year, delivering a better-than-anticipated performance on the part of its management team. The company experienced a corporate overhaul in early 2022 that led to the appointment of a number of new executives including CEO Rhon Daguro. The team put together a 12-month sales plan in June, and were able to achieve their original goal in six months. In a statement, Daguro said the achievement “attests to the market’s concerns around the security and authentication breaches attributed to compromised passwords and devices that dominated 2023 headlines, and which are predicted to continue in 2024.”

BIO-key Wins Another AuthControl Sentry Customer

Haver & Boecker, a German firm specializing in processing and packaging technology for industrial materials, has become the latest company to implement BIO-key Europe’s AuthControl Sentry solution for Single Sign-On authentication. The integration was implemented in partnership with P&W Netzwerk GmbH & Co. KG. BIO-key has been doing brisk business with AuthControl Sentry, which was added to its portfolio through its acquisition of Swivel Secure Europe in 2022.

ID4Africa Boosts Ambassador Participation

ID4Africa has announced its 2024 “Class of Ambassadors”, marking a sharp uptick in the number of high-level government officials participating in the digital identity-focused effort. ID4Africa restructured the program to allow each participating country to appoint three Ambassadors, with at least one representing the ICT agenda and another representing the Identity Authority track. That has brought the number of officials up from 93 in 2023 to 120 this year.

Canadian Firms Link Blockchain ID to Banking Network for Authentication

ATB Ventures, the innovation arm of the Alberta-based bank ATB Financial, is looking to extend the reach of its blockchain-based digital ID solution, Oliu, through a new partnership with Flinks. The latter is a Toronto-based financial software company that has built an API for a network of bank connections. This network is key to the new partnership, as it will enable organizations using Oliu to verify their customers’ identities based on their existing Canadian bank accounts. Read the full story on Mobile ID World.

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January 17, 2024 – by Alex Perala