IBIA

Opinion Speaker Pelosi Should Bring the Privacy Bill to a Vote (The Washington Post, Aug 08, 2022)
Congress has proved itself adept at missing opportunities to pass the type of federal privacy law that an overwhelming majority of voters support. Lawmakers should avoid displaying this talent again as the midterms approach. The American Data and Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA) advanced out of committee in the House last month — the furthest such a piece of legislation has managed to travel since legislators began promising they would set nationwide rules for how companies handle consumers’ personal information in the digital age. Objections in both chambers have dampened any optimism that this time, finally, a bill will pass: from worries about the draft’s preemption provisions to concerns about enforcement. But none of these issues should deter Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) from bringing this legislation to the floor. Members from California especially have been reluctant to throw ADPPA their support — with some voting the bill out of committee but announcing they’d reject its current form on the floor, and others simply voting no. These representatives believe their state’s own law is stronger, and they don’t want a nationwide standard to supersede it.

San Diego Finds a Compromise on Biometric Surveillance, but Skeptics Remain (Biometric Update, Aug 08, 2022)
An accommodation between the right to privacy and the government’s duty to protect has been reached on the use of biometric surveillance in the southern Californian city of San Diego. It will require operational oversight, which makes police officials and privacy advocates wary. And looking at recent history, this policy is not written in stone. The city council voted 5-4 two months ago for an oversight system designed to give police fettered use of biometric surveillance. It was part of a multi-step process involving hearings and reviews by the city. The final gate was the approval of employee groups, and that came last week, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The city has a year to prepare for the use of the technology, including setting up a privacy advisory board and standardizing reports to the council from departments wanting to use biometric surveillance.

GSA Looks for Ideas on Using Kiosks to Collect Biometric Identity Information (Federal News Network , Aug 08, 2022)
Kiosks are like robots that don’t move. They replace people for high-volume, repetitive tasks like checking people in or issuing paperwork. Now the General Services Administration is looking for ideas for using kiosks to identify people or issue credentials, remotely. For more details, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to Darlene Gore, GSA’s director of identity, credential and access management. We’re looking for kiosk capability and functionality. The USSS program has been around for 14 years. We issue PIV cards to federal government, about 120 federal agencies. And so the pandemic introduced, you know, new challenges for card issuance, especially because it’s face to face. Most of the functionality is face to face. And so we’re exploring opportunities with kiosks and hopefully we can deliver that PIV card services through kiosks services.

The French government is so worried that its citizens might revolt and chop off their heads in the roundabout in the Place de la Concorde that they are spending a fortune on new biometric cards to keep an eye on them. The French parliament (Assemblée Nationale) has voted for a new €20 million project 242-95 to establish a biometric version of citizens’ health cards (Carte Vitale). Oddly the money for the idea comes from the French package of financial aid for the cost-of-living crisis, the project would see the creation of a biometric Carte Vitale featuring a chip containing the physical characteristics of the insured, such as fingerprints. The cards will be linked to the patient’s bank account, the biometric card would then help healthcare providers identify individuals while also helping the government fight against fraudsters. Apparently this is a big issue in France where there are seven million more national insurance collectors than there are inhabitants.

Last week, Russian legislators adopted a law obliging banks and state agencies to enter their clients’ biometrics, including facial images and voice samples, into a central biometrics database. The measure is set to take effect in March 2023 and does not require banks to seek clients’ consent before handing over their data. In what appears to be a coordinated effort in anticipation of the new regulation, Russia’s Central Bank is already planning to prohibit individual branches from allowing clients to open new accounts or apply for loans via mobile apps without biometric data authentication. The move is likely designed to boost biometric data collection which would ultimately be shared with the government. The expansion of biometrics collection by the government, through banks and state agencies, drastically increases the threat of surveillance for people living in Russia.

Identity Week America, 4 - 5 October, 2022 (Terrapinn, Aug 08, 2022)
IDENTITY WEEK is the most important identity event in the USA. IDENTITY WEEK is a conference and exhibition bringing together the brightest minds in the identity sector to promote innovation, new thinking, and more effective identity solutions. Key areas of focus include secure physical credentials, digital identity, and advanced authentication technologies, such as biometrics.