The Commission has published the report ’Biometrics at the Frontiers: Assessing the Impact on Society’. The study assesses how biometric technologies, like fingerprinting and iris and face recognition, will impact on our daily lives.
The report is published in the context of the new EU requirement for biometric passports, visas and residence permits from 2006. Biometrics are often thought of only in terms of security and border controls, but the report makes the claim that there will be a ’function creep’ introducing biometric technologies in other areas as well.
From a health perspective the report is interesting because of its treatment of the medical aspects of the use of biometric technology. It identifies two types of implications: direct and indirect.
Direct implications are the ones that pose an actual health risk, like biometric equipment being contaminated or retina scans damaging eyesight. These, however, are treated as unsubstantiated fears rather than actual risks.
Indirect implications, however, are seen as more serious. For example the storage of sensitive health information raises questions about privacy and potential misuse.
The report also presents a ’health scenario’ identifying ways in which biometric technologies can be used in the medical sector in the future. Biometrics are likely to be applied in this area because of the opportunities provided for positive identification and the increased privacy offered as biometrics cannot be misused in the way e.g. a password can.
Areas of application suggested in the report include storage of health information in e-cards, access to medical journals or medications, and e-health (patient identification etc.).
As biometrics will become increasingly important in different areas it is important to shape rather than react to developments. The report therefore stresses the importance of developing policy initiatives on the matter. This creates an opportunity for interested parties to influence the future use of biometric technologies.
US approach to biometrics
The new US Secretary for Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, looks set to place a strong emphasis on biometric identifiers in his policies. As part of his initiative to create ’security envelopes’ - areas of secure travel - biometric identifiers are key to hinder potential terrorists access. Chertoff has also expressed a wish to cooperate with European counterparts to make the envelope as comprehensive as possible. Hence, there will be strong American interest in the EU driving forward its initiatives within biometrics.
