OTI Endorses Bill Limiting Corporate Use of Facial Recognition and Other Biometric Data

This week, Senators Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sanders (D-Vt.) introduced the National Biometric Information Privacy Act (NBIPA). Building upon the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, NBIPA would require businesses to obtain consumers’ opt-in consent before collecting, sharing, or otherwise using their biometric data, require companies to minimize and delete biometric data regularly, and limit the collection of this sensitive personal information to valid business purposes. Notably, the bill also includes a strong private right of action so individuals can enforce their rights. New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) endorses this important legislation, and urges Congress to take it up without delay.

Biometric information is the most sensitive data imaginable, and its collection, which is becoming more widespread in commercial spaces, raises significant privacy concerns. Unlike mailing addresses and passwords, our biometric information—our faces, our fingerprints, our irises, and so on—is irreplaceable and largely unchangeable. Especially now, as the coronavirus pandemic lingers on, more companies are creating and deploying new biometric surveillance tools, which are subject to little oversight or protections in the absence of a comprehensive data privacy law (or even a narrower COVID-privacy law). The NBIPA would therefore provide much-needed safeguards for our biometric information in commercial spaces, and comes at a key moment.

The following quote can be attributed to Lauren Sarkesian, senior policy counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“Now more than ever, we need to establish clear limitations on when and how private companies collect and use biometric data. As facial recognition becomes more prevalent in commercial spaces, private companies devise and deploy pandemic response tools, and some companies even monetize our sensitive biometric data, safeguards are badly needed. Especially in the absence of a comprehensive data privacy law, the National Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2020 would provide crucial protections. We thank Senators Merkley and Sanders for their leadership on this issue and look forward to working with them on this important effort.”