Biometrics has made the process of identifying people easy. This is helpful in authentication and has many applications. While there is no doubt about the benefits of biometrics, there are concerns about its use. These concerns are related to privacy and civil liberties are listed by Bahaa Abdul Hadi.

The concerns about biometrics

Biometrics makes use of fingerprints, facial patterns, and iris patterns of individuals to identify them. This is a secure method of identifying people and is very helpful in authentication. Biometrics helps in enhanced security and allows authentication to happen faster. Today, biometrics is used in many areas and its vast benefits have made it popular.

A major concern that biometrics presents is the privacy of individuals. Since personal data that identifies them is stored in a database, there is a serious risk of breach of privacy. There are also risks related to loss of civil liberties of individuals. Let’s look at the key issues involved:

  • Since biometrics can be used to identify people, it is possible to track people through surveillance. In countries like China, cameras can zoom in on people on the streets and identify them. This is a serious concern and makes people vulnerable since they can be tracked and monitored.
  • Civil liberties can be affected as people with political views opposed to the government can be put under surveillance. Such a surveillance can be used to track and harass dissidents.
  • While biometrics is a secure way of authentication, the data is stored on public databases. There is a serious risk of this data being hacked. If biometric data of individuals are accessed by criminals, it poses serious problems. Their financial data can be breached. Hackers may be able to locate them and even carry out fraud.
  • Biometric data collected for a legitimate purpose can be misused in the future if not managed well. The biometric data may be shared with others without informing individuals. This is a serious breach of civil liberties.
  • Biometric data contains details of an individual’s gender, race, sexual orientation, etc. There is a possibility that this data may be used by businesses to discriminate people. This again is a violation of civil liberties.
  • Police officers can track people using biometric data. This can be a problem for people who want to legitimately protest against the government or any other organization. They can be identified while protesting and subject to harassment.

Conclusion

All these are serious concerns and governments need to work out ways to address them. The benefits of biometrics must not be overshadowed by infringement of civil liberties.

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