UK biometrics ethics group seeks new advisors

The UK government is recruiting new advisors for its Biometrics and Forensic Ethics Group (BFEG) which provides recommendations on handling biometric data, forensic material and large data sets used in machine learning.

The UK oversight group plans to hire six new members with experience in domains such as biometrics, AI, data and medical ethics, law and social sciences. The group will provide Home Office ministers with independent ethical advice during the next three years. The application deadline is September 11, 2023.

The news comes amid a wider reshuffle of UK government agencies working on biometrics issues which will see the position of Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner for England and Wales abolished due to the introduction of the new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. The decision has invited criticism from the likes of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr. Brian Plastow who argues that removing the office will give the police a “carte blanche to do whatever they like in the biometrics space.”

UK Surveillance Camera and Biometrics Commissioner Fraser Sampson stepped down last week noting that his roles would be rendered irrelevant by the new law which is expected to arrive in early 2024 or later.

The BFEG was created to complement the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner and the Forensic Science Regulator. In its annual report published in March this year, the oversight group highlighted gait and voice biometrics as a new priority.

Also in the UK, Professor Niamh Nic Daéid, director of the University of Dundee’s Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, has been appointed to the advisory board of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner. The office’s function is to ensure that biometric data gathered by Scottish police forces is handled according to law.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group  |  regulation  |  Scottish Biometrics Commissioner