Biometrics - recommendations for future usage of biometric technologies in Da

Biometric technologies, such as fingerprint- and iris scanning, are gradually being deployed in Danish society. On the one hand, biometrics represents a wide range of new opportunities that can make necessary personal authentication and identification both more secure and convenient. On the other hand, the rise of biometric technologies might potentially compromise the individual’s rights to privacy as well as lead to increased registration and social exclusion. Consequently, successful implementation of biometrics in the future must utilize the opportunities of new technology but at the same time respect the integrity of the individual. The Danish Board of Technology has formed an expert workgroup that attempt to contribute to this process by prompting the public debate about biometrics and by creating a set of guidelines and recommendations for both public and private decision makers.

The task of the project include:
To evaluate the current use of biometrics
To describe and assess the pros and cons of the specific biometric technologies
To create a set of possible future scenarios
To assess the possibilities of using biometrics in a “citizen card”
To assess whether biometric systems require amendments to existing legislation and standards and make recommendations, if any changes are necessary
To assess whether the current control regarding the purchase and sale of biometric technologies and data are appropriate
To recommend criteria for the implementation and future usage of biometrics – e.g. should privacy by design as a principal rule be embedded in biometric solutions?

To ensure the project will engender public debate, selected parts of the report will be published and disseminated on the website www.biometri.info along with illustrations and animations. Here, the general public will be presented to the biometric technologies and the main themes of the project. After having reviewed the material on the site users are invited to take a quiz and answer a questionnaire.

The project's primary target groups are:
Decision makers (Danish parliament, EU and other relevant authorities)
Businesses, researchers and others who work professionally with biometrics
The media
Citizens
Young people (teaching material)