biometrics
Ban biometric surveillance in public to safeguard rights, urge EU bodies
There have been further calls from EU institutions to outlaw biometric surveillance in public. In a joint opinion published today, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Prote
UK’s ICO warns over ‘Big Data’ surveillance threat of live facial recognition in public
The UK’s chief data protection regulator has warned over reckless and inappropriate use of live facial recognition (LFR) in public places. Publishing an opinion today on the use of this biometri
TikTok just gave itself permission to collect biometric data on US users, including ‘faceprints and voiceprints’
A change to TikTok’s U.S. privacy policy on Wednesday introduced a new section that says the social video app “may collect biometric identifiers and biometric information” from its u
EU’s top data protection supervisor urges ban on facial recognition in public
The European Union’s lead data protection supervisor has called for remote biometric surveillance in public places to be banned outright under incoming AI legislation. The European Data Protecti
MEPs call for European AI rules to ban biometric surveillance in public
A cross-party group of 40 MEPs in the European parliament has called on the Commission to strengthen an incoming legislative proposal on artificial intelligence to include an outright ban on the use o
Amazon expands its biometric-based Amazon One palm reader system to more retail stores
Last fall, Amazon introduced a new biometric device, Amazon One, that allowed customers to pay at Amazon Go stores using their palm. Today, the company says the device is being rolled out to additiona
WhatsApp adds biometric authentication to its web and desktop versions
WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned popular messaging app with more than 2 billion users, has been getting a lot of heat and losing users in recent weeks after announcing (and then delaying) changes to how i
FTC settlement with Ever orders data and AIs deleted after facial recognition pivot
The maker of a defunct cloud photo storage app that pivoted to selling facial recognition services has been ordered to delete user data and any algorithms trained on it, under the terms of an FTC sett
Massachusetts lawmakers vote to pass a statewide police ban on facial recognition
Massachusetts lawmakers have voted to pass a new police reform bill that will ban police departments and public agencies from using facial recognition technology across the state. The bill was passed
Daily Crunch: Amazon lets you pay with your palm
Amazon unveils a new biometric ID technology, the Biden campaign takes aim at Facebook and iRobot’s co-founder joins a robotic gardening startup. This is your Daily Crunch for September 29, 2020
Spirit Airlines starts testing biometric check-ins
Discount carrier Spirit Airlines today announced that it is introducing biometric check-ins in its ticket lobby at Chicago’s O’Hare airport to streamline the check-in process and reduce fa
CBP does not make it clear Americans can opt out of airport face scanning, watchdog says
A government watchdog has criticized U.S. border authorities for failing to properly disclose the agency’s use of facial recognition at airports, which included instructions on how Americans can
Google is making autofill on Chrome for mobile more secure
Google today announced a new autofill experience for Chrome on mobile that will use biometric authentication for credit card transactions, as well as an updated built-in password manager that will mak
Lawsuits allege Microsoft, Amazon and Google violated Illinois facial recognition privacy law
In a set of new lawsuits, two Illinois residents argue that three tech giants violated state laws prohibiting the use of personal biometric data without permission. Illinois residents Steven Vance and
Researchers use biometrics, including data from the Oura Ring, to predict COVID-19 symptoms in advance
A team of researchers from the West Virginia University (WVU) Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI), along with WVU’s Medicine department and staff from Oura Health have developed a platform
Facebook will pay $550 million to settle class action lawsuit over privacy violations
Facebook will pay over half a billion dollars to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged systematic violation of an Illinois consumer privacy law. The settlement amount is large indeed, but a small
Persona raises $17.5M for an identify verification platform that goes beyond user IDs and passwords
The proliferation of data breaches based on leaked passwords, and the rising tide of regulation that puts a hard stop on just how much user information can be collected, stored and used by companies h
DHS wants to expand airport face recognition scans to include US citizens
Homeland Security wants to expand facial recognition checks for travelers arriving to and departing from the U.S. to also include citizens, which had previously been exempt from the mandatory checks.
Another US court says police cannot force suspects to turn over their passwords
The highest court in Pennsylvania has ruled that the state’s law enforcement cannot force suspects to turn over their passwords that would unlock their devices. The state’s Supreme Court s
Facebook could face billions in potential damages as court rules facial recognition lawsuit can proceed
Facebook is facing exposure to billions of dollars in potential damages as a federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Facebook’s arguments to halt a class action lawsuit claiming it illegally