Privacy

While the use of a biometric technology is not an invasion of privacy, in many cases the way the digital data is produced, stored, compared and possibly linked to other information about the individual, may raise a set of concerns. Although these are concerns the existing legal framework for Data protection can handle the widespread diffusion of biometrics into the commercial sphere may challenge the legal framework in ways that will have a negative impact on user acceptability. For example should the habit of sharing biometric data among private sector entities proliferate, then it is likely that users may find that the current data protection frame is unable to protect them adequately and thus become disenchanted with convenience application altogether.

Moreover, one would have to consider ethical consequence of large scale deployment. One could argue that the use of a part of oneself (the biometric feature that is being digitised, stored and compared) as one’s identity is eliminating the space that we traditionally place between our physical selves and our identity. Currently, any individual has the option of changing identity if the need arises (e.g. witness protection programme). This becomes harder or even impossible when identity is tied up with the physical self.