ETHICAL PRACTICE IN THE USE OF BIOMETRIC IDENTIFIERS WITHIN THE EU

Ethical issues surrounding the actual and proposed use of biometric identifiers within the EU are identified. The paper starts by defining biometric technology and biometric identification. This is followed by some examples of biometric identifiers presently used in private applications across the world. These examples lead to consideration of some of the ethical problems likely to be encountered when public authorities start using biometrics in travel documents and databases. A brief exploration of current EU policy initiatives involving biometric identifiers is then undertaken to indicate the scope of the problem. A number of ethical issues surrounding the use of biometrics will be articulated, and an assessment will be made of whether the norms and standards applied to the use of biometric identifiers are appropriate. It is concluded that the application of biometric technology should be consistent, justified and linked to appropriate protections.

[1]  A.C.J. Sprokkereef,et al.  An assessment of the proposed uniform format for residence permits : Use of biometrics , 2006 .

[2]  Michael C. Bromby,et al.  Face Value: The Entwined Histories of Money and Race in America , 2012 .

[3]  Irma van der Ploeg,et al.  The illegal body: `Eurodac' and the politics of biometric identification , 1999, Ethics and Information Technology.

[4]  R. Rosenfeld,et al.  Ethics , 2008 .

[5]  Zeno J. M. H. Geradts.  Forensic implications of identity systems , 2006, Datenschutz und Datensicherheit - DuD.

[6]  T. Lipinski.  The Governance of Privacy: Policy Instruments in Global Perspective , 2008 .

[7]  Juliet Lodge.  Ethical EU eJustice: elusive or illusionary? , 2006, J. Inf. Commun. Ethics Soc..

[8]  John A. Taylor,et al.  Identity Management as Public Innovation: Looking beyond ID Cards and Authentication Systems , 2005 .

[9]  René von Schomberg,et al.  From the ethics of technology towards an ethics of knowledge policy: implications for robotics , 2007, AI & SOCIETY.

[10]  J. Lodge.  eJustice, Security and Biometrics: the EU's Proximity Paradox , 2005 .

[11]  Michael J. Reiss,et al.  Improving Nature?: The Science and Ethics of Genetic Engineering , 1998 .

[12]  Philip Brey,et al.  Ethical aspects of facial recognition systems in public places , 2004, J. Inf. Commun. Ethics Soc..

[13]  Stephen Karanja.  The Schengen Information System in Austria: An Essential Tool in Day to Day Police and Border Control Work? , 2002, Journal of Information, Law and Technology.

[14]  B. Rasmusson,et al.  A Swedish Perspective , 2008 .

[15]  J.H.A.M. Grijpink.  Biometrics and privacy , 2001 .

[16]  Wim Schreurs,et al.  Machine-readable identity documents with biometric data in the EU. Overview of the legal framework. , 2007 .

[17]  Serge Gutwirth,et al.  Interoperability of police databases within the EU: An accountable political choice? , 2006 .

[18]  Nancy L. Pedersen,et al.  Associations between iris characteristics and personality in adulthood , 2007, Biological Psychology.

[19]  P. Hert.  Biometrics : legal issues and implications , 2005 .

[20]  Other.  Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: Renewable Energy road map: renewable energies in the 21st century: building a more sustainable future (10.1.2007 COM(2006) 848 final) , 2007 .

[21]  Sabine Delaitre,et al.  Biometrics at the Frontiers: Assessing the Impact on Society , 2005 .

[22]  E. Brouwer.  Data Surveillance and Border Control in the EU. Balancing Efficiency and Legal Protection of Third Country Nationals , 2005 .

[23]  C. Lombroso,et al.  L'uomo delinquente , 1876 .

[24]  Julian Ashbourn.  Where we really are with biometrics , 2004 .

[25]  Gary T. Marx,et al.  An Ethics For The New Surveillance , 1998, Inf. Soc..

[26]  Edward H. Freeman.  Biometrics, Evidence, and Personal Privacy , 2003, Inf. Secur. J. A Glob. Perspect..

[27]  A. Alterman,et al.  ``A piece of yourself'': Ethical issues in biometric identification , 2003, Ethics and Information Technology.

[28]  Hugh LaFollette,et al.  The Oxford handbook of practical ethics , 2005 .

[29]  Thierry Balzacq.  Security Versus Freedom?: A Challenge for Europe's Future , 2006 .

[30]  Rebekah Thomas.  Biometrics, International Migrants and Human Rights , 2006 .

[31]  Malcolm Crompton,et al.  Biometrics and Privacy the End of the World as We Know it or the White Knight of Privacy? , 2004 .

[32]  Julian Ashbourn.  The Social Implications of the Wide Scale Implementation of Biometric and Related Technologies , 2005 .

[33]  Bart Jacobs,et al.  Crossing Borders: Security and Privacy Issues of the European e-Passport , 2006, IWSEC.

[34]  Edgar A. Whitley,et al.  The identity project: an assessment of the UK Identity Cards Bill and its implications , 2005 .

[35]  Corien Prins.  Making our body identify for us: Legal implications of biometric technologies , 1998, Comput. Law Secur. Rev..

[36]  Daan Lenstra,et al.  Reliability and security of information , 2006 .