ethics in biometrics

It's already having a profound impact on sectors such as border management, banking and mobile commerce.​​

However, the technology is not without its challenges.

As Isabelle Moeller, chief executive of the Biometrics Institute underlines in this short video interview, the key to successful deployment ultimately lies in finding the right answers to some big questions.

Ethics and policy of biometrics
As the industry's leading representative body, the Biometrics Institute's prime objectives include sharing best practice and promoting the responsible use of biometrics in both the public and private sectors.

But whilst much progress has been made, Isabelle acknowledges there is "still a lot of discussion about the vulnerabilities."

In technical terms, she draws attention to the fact that there are now plenty of proven tools available to mitigate the risk of biometric systems being fooled by fraudsters or other malevolent individuals.

The central issue, Isabelle believes, is the need to address broader ethical concerns such as privacy, informed consent and so-called function creep, where biometric data ends up being used in applications that the holder never actually signed up for.

What's creepy?
Generally speaking, function creep refers to information that is collected for one purpose but being used for another. Function creep may be motivated by several reasons (from state intelligence to commercial motivations) and usually involves three elements:

A policy vacuum
An unsatisfied demand for a given function
A slippery slope effect, or a covert application.
When discovered and publicized, these stories generate negative response and allegations of creepiness. They also give very short timeframes available for society—and the law—to react.

Consumer advocates are conjuring the threat of a surveillance culture that will end civil society as we know it. Business groups are accusing the media to spread fears and regulators of a ploy to destroy innovation.


Guidance is needed
For all concerned, the Biometrics Institute is an invaluable source of guidance.

In identifying the right strategy, Isabelle particularly urges service providers not to regard biometrics as a standalone response to the multi-dimensional challenges of identity verification.

A layered approach is critical.

Or, as she puts it: "I'm comfortable to access my phone using my fingerprint…but would I want to transact £50,000 just using a fingerprint? Probably not." She continues: "A multi-factor approach is in most cases the best way to go."

Given the speed with which relatively new technologies are now being deployed in security-critical applications, Isabelle also recognizes the importance of all stakeholders striving to achieve and maintain the highest standards of integrity.

A very important milestone achieved by the Biometrics Institute was the work on a Privacy Code to help provide best-practice privacy principles for the use of biometrics addressing issues such as consent, notice and purpose.

We just need to ensure as an industry that there are no bad news stories breaking that will lose consumer trust.
The comment follows revelations that a London police trial of facial recognition technology generated 104 "alerts", of which 102 were false. Facial recognition technology was used to scan CCTV footage from the Notting Hill Carnival and Six Nations Rugby matches in London in search of wanted criminals.

Another trial by South Wales police returned 2,400 false positives from CCTV footage gathered at UEFA football matches and the like.

Concerns have also been raised that Police resources could be tied up chasing false identities as officers, in some cases, questioning innocent crowd members who'd been matched by the software with criminal identities.

Facial biometrics in particular is an emerging technology, and for the public to embrace it fully, the industry needs to work hard to allay fears and build confidence, while in parallel, procedures and guidelines should be debated, and legislation strengthened.