Privacy row looms over Washington state biometric bill

Tech firm and retailers in Washington state are concerned about legislation that would impact on the use of biometric identifiers.Proponents say the bill would prevent any surreptitious collection of personal information from users, particularly when biometric identifiers may be captured or disclosed for a commercial purpose.Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, introduced the bill in 2015.The bill clarifies “biometric identifier” as a characteristic, whether biological, behavioral, or both, that uniquely identifies and enables automated recognition of an individual, including but not limited to fingerprints, DNA, hand geometry, palm print, and iris scan.While the state's House passed the bill 91-6 last year, it has since stalled in the Senate.”We want businesses to think about these questions before they deploy the technology,” Morris has said. “Too often with new technologies we get into a game of cat-and-mouse. This bill allows us to set a standard for how our most personal information may be used in the future.”Speaking to Geekwire, Morris noted that California and Washington have bills in play on this subject, but that the Washington legislation covers entire biometric systems compared to California focusing on individual biometric identifiers.”This is a case of trying to be proactive, not reactive,” Morris said.However, opponents to the law include the Association of Washington Business, the Washington Retail Association, the Washington Technology Industry Association, and TechNet.These critics say the bill's definitions of biometric technical terms and business practices need more work.

Also in the news:

CLEAR expands at FLL Zighra’s behavioral authentication platform now supports FIDO White House recommends biometrics to halt data breaches