Body language, cues? FTC releases policy statement on misuse of biometric data

As Emilia asks in Act 5 comedy of errors, “Do my eyes deceive me?” Sorry, we’re all Shakespearean, but our eyes (and faces, fingerprints, etc.) can reveal a lot about us—data that can be used in deceptive or Unfair ways are abused. The FTC has just released a policy statement on biometric information and Section 5 of the FTC Act, which is a must-read for businesses.

The increasing use of consumer biometric information, and the marketing of technologies that use or purport to use this information, raise serious concerns about data security, privacy, and potential bias and discrimination. This is not a new issue for the FTC. For more than a decade, we have been studying the impact of biometric data on consumer protection – for example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Face Facts: Face Recognition Technology Forum and in the report, Face the facts: Best practices for common uses of facial recognition technology. Recently, the FTC took enforcement action against photo app maker album and Facebookaccusing them of misrepresenting their use of facial recognition technology.

During this period, some biometric information technologies have made significant progress. NIST found that facial recognition improved 20 times between 2014 and 2018 in its ability to find matching photos in the database. Many of these technologies are also significantly less expensive to use. So it’s no surprise that the use of these technologies is everywhere from retail stores to arenas.

But as technology and risks evolve rapidly, important guidelines to protect consumers remain: The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits unfair or deceptive practices.This policy statement demonstrates how established legal requirements apply and outlines the agency’s use of Biometric information or biometric information technology may violate the Federal Trade Commission Act.

You’ll need to read the policy statement to understand the full text, but in terms of deceptiveness in Section 5, companies should not make “false or unsubstantiated information.” Marketing claims regarding validity, reliability, accuracy, The performance, fairness or effectiveness of technologies using biometric information. ” more importantly, “dAn acceptance statement regarding the collection and use of biometric information may also be available.

With regard to unfairness, the policy statement includes factors the Commission considers when assessing whether a use of biometric information may be unfair:

• Failure to assess foreseeable harm to consumers before collecting biometric information;
• Failure to promptly address known or foreseeable risks;
• Secretly and accidentally collect or use biometric information;
• Failure to assess the practices and capabilities of third parties with access to consumers’ biometric information;
• Failure to provide appropriate training to employees and contractors whose duties involve interacting with biometric information; and
• Failure to continuously monitor corporate technology that uses biometric information to ensure that it is functioning as intended and not harming consumers.

No need to read between the lines to read the FTC’s message to your company and customers. As the policy statement clearly states:

The Commission wishes to emphasize that, particularly in view of the rapid changes in technological capabilities and uses, businesses should continually assess whether their use of biometric information or biometric information technology creates or is likely to result in a breach of section 5 of the Consumer Protection Act causing harm to consumers. Federal Trade Commission Act. If so, businesses must cease such practices, regardless of whether they are specifically mentioned in this statement.