Most UK, US execs already on-board for biometrics, about 15% have no adoption plans

A survey by law firm Womble Bond Dickinson indicates that six out of 10 companies in the United Kingdom and the United States have incorporated biometrics into their businesses.

The report surveyed 205 executives and found that 64 percent of those in the U.S. and 59 percent in the UK use biometrics. Only 14 percent of U.S. executives and 20 percent of UK executives surveyed said they are not using biometric data and do not plan to.

Fewer than half of respondents occupied the C-suite.

Of those gathering biometric data, a majority (53 percent) collected fingerprints. They also are collecting facial (34 percent), voice (32 percent) iris (28 percent) and ear (8 percent) data.

Some respondents reported using what Womble Bond Dickinson characterizes as more invasive biometrics, like finger or hand veins (24 percent), heartbeat (8 percent) and even brain waves (5 percent).

The top uses for harvesting data include authentication, future purposes and payment processing.

When it comes to regulations, a prime business concern in many industries, the UK is further along in acclimating to biometrics rules than the U.S. The UK adopted the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018.

While there isn’t a GDPR equivalent in the U.S., some states have passed related laws.

For example, a group of truck drivers won a class action suit over alleged violation of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. They charged that a freight-rail operator required the use of fingerprint scans to enter rail yards. The rail company did not get consent or inform drivers how their biometric data would be managed, as required by BIPA.

Other states, like Texas and Washington, also have biometric privacy laws, but unlike Illinois, neither provides a private right of action. Residents claiming harm have to petition the government to sue a company for misusing data. New consumer privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia regulate the processing of biometric data.

Privacy regulations aren’t the primary driver for executives choosing not to use biometric data. Only 17 percent of executives who do not intend to use biometrics said they were primarily concerned about privacy compliance while 60 percent said biometric data is not relevant to their business.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  data privacy  |  UK  |  United States