U.S. Biometric Laws & Pending Legislation Tracker - March 2025
(JD Supra, Mar 11, 2025)
Existing legislation has led to a boon of class action litigation against employers, consumer-facing businesses, and technology companies for claimed violations of biometric privacy rights. It is therefore imperative that businesses remain informed of their obligations, which are increasingly expanding and being required in new jurisdictions, as non-compliance can create significant monetary exposure.
Facial Recognition Technology Adds Safeguards at Some Colorado Schools. It Also Raises Questions About Civil Rights
(NPR News, Colorado Stories, Mar 11, 2025)
A bill at the state legislature would regulate how the technology can be used in the state’s schools at a time when more districts have considered adopting the facial recognition technology. The debate underlines a conflict between supporters who say it helps make schools safer and opponents who call it a violation of students’ civil rights.
Are Your BYOD Policies Fifth Amendment-Ready? The Growing Tension Between Biometrics & Individual Rights
(Corporate Compliance Insights, Mar 11, 2025)
Compelled biometrics are a significant issue for ephemeral communications in the context of corporate investigations. Companies do not have a Fifth Amendment privilege, but employees do, and the lines of when ephemeral communications are business records or personal communications blur depending on context and circumstances. In light of BYOD policies, compliance programs should strike a balance between individual rights and data security.
HMRC to Use Voice Recognition to Speed Up Calls
(BBC News, Mar 11, 2025)
James Murray, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said HMRC was trialling a system used by banks to use voice recognition to improve call handling. Customers' voice recordings are converted into encrypted biometric data, then used to clear security checks.
Biometric vs NFC: Which One Is the Future of Building Security?
(London Loves Business, Mar 11, 2025)
The future may lie in hybrid systems, where NFC can be a first layer access, while fingerprint can be second. For financial institutions, a bank customer might authorize a high-value transaction by tapping an NFC-enabled device while undergoing facial recognition—a process that will be robust to phishing and deepfake attacks.
