Government biometrics projects and approvals of digital ID technologies made up most of the top news stories on Biometric Update over the past week. National biometrics registration campaigns are yielding results in Ethiopia and Nigeria, a large U.S. contract has been won by Idemia Public Security and its partner, and Australia is limiting the number of companies that will be approved for its federal digital ID system, with IDverse and Mastercard among the likely beneficiaries. Yoti’s age estimation has not won a key approval from the U.S. government, yet, and sooner or later, UK’s borders are likely to need more biometric gear deployed. On the private sector side, NEC has been revealed as the facial recognition provider for a major sports initiative.
Read more: Public sector biometrics back national gains despite staggered adoption
Biometrics providers and other large private entities are supplying technologies to smart city projects to create and use digital IDs, according to a report from the Northeastern University School of Law and the Immigrant Defense Project. The groups are worried about the consequences of this arrangement, and possible increases in inequality and surveillance.
The 54-page report on ‘Smart-City Digital ID Projects: Reinforcing Inequality and Increasing Surveillance through Corporate “Solutions”’ argues that companies providing biometrics for law enforcement or national ID projects are prone to technological solutionism and likely to fail to meet community needs.
Read more: Are biometrics providers using smart cities to advance digital ID?
The biometrics business continues as normal in parts of Africa. A new ePassport agency opens in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, despite closed borders and social distancing requirements. Idemia appoints a new East Africa sales director, soon after its good news in Kenya. Nigeria connects more bank accounts to national IDs, Malawi strikes off over 4,000 potential ‘ghost pensioners,’ and at the humanitarian end of the spectrum, the UNHCR is continuing its biometric registration work as it faces tens of thousands of refugees arriving in Niger.
Anticipation for mass market biometric credit and debit cards continues to build, with market conditions aligning and major announcements expected in the second half of the year. Broader adoption of facial recognition also seemed to be a major theme for the week in biometrics news, before the technology’s use by law enforcement in the U.S. hijacked the topic. If the changes announced this week are not accompanied by meaningful policy change, however, they are not likely to significantly impact the market.
Zwipe CEO Andre Løvestam and HSBC Group COO and CTO Ritesh Jain discussed the evolution of payment cards in the context of COVID-19 at a recent Group Futurista online conference. Biometric card prices are dropping rapidly, and with consumers wanting both reduced contact with shared services and more contactless payment security, the conditions for mass market launch seem to be aligning for both supply and demand. Commercialization could even be this year, according to Fingerprint Cards CEO Christian Fredrikson. Speaking during a Corporate Day presentation, Fredrikson said contactless payments growth is accelerating, which was echoed by the Zwipe Chief in a separate presentation for investors.<
A recent court decision in India could provide some guidelines, but every solution should be based on an individual country's needs, demographics, and history.
It's past time we regulate how the government collects, stores, and uses citizen data—and a recent ruling by India's Supreme Court, on the country's digital ID system, may provide us with a blueprint for how to think through that process.
Read more: Should There Be a Global Blueprint for How Governments Handle Biometric Data?