This book is open access. This book undertakes a multifaceted and integrated examination of
biometric identification including the current state of the technology how it is being used
the key ethical issues and the implications for law and regulation. The five chapters examine
the main forms of contemporary biometrics-fingerprint recognition facial recognition and DNA
identification- as well the integration of biometric data with other forms of personal data
analyses key ethical concepts in play including privacy individual autonomy collective
responsibility and joint ownership rights and proposes a raft of principles to guide the
regulation of biometrics in liberal democracies.Biometric identification technology is
developing rapidly and being implemented more widely along with other forms of information
technology. As products services and communication moves online digital identity and security
is becoming more important. Biometric identification facilitates this transition. Citizens now
use biometrics to access a smartphone or obtain a passport law enforcement agencies use
biometrics in association with CCTV to identify a terrorist in a crowd or identify a suspect
via their fingerprints or DNA and companies use biometrics to identify their customers and
employees. In some cases the use of biometrics is governed by law in others the technology has
developed and been implemented so quickly that perhaps because it has been viewed as a
valuable security enhancement laws regulating its use have often not been updated to reflect
new applications. However the technology associated with biometrics raises significant ethical
problems including in relation to individual privacy ownership of biometric data dual use
and more generally as is illustrated by the increasing use of biometrics in authoritarian
states such as China the potential for unregulated biometrics to undermine fundamental
principles of liberal democracy. Resolving these ethical problems is a vital step towards more
effective regulation.
