The DHS’s New AI Rules and CBP’s Biometric App

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

DHS Announces New AI Rules

The Department of Homeland Security has announced new internal rules for its use of artificial intelligence, including provisions aimed at ensuring that Americans can decline to undergo face scans at airports and in other situations. The rules will also mandate the use of human review of automated biometric matches based on facial recognition, and will require the DHS to periodically audit its facial recognition systems to ensure that they aren’t being misused. In announcing the guidelines, the DHS also named its CIO, Eric Hysen, as its Chief AI Officer.

CBP Seeks to Welcome Ukrainian Refugees With Biometric App

US Customs and Border Protection is looking for comment as it reconfigures its CBP One app to accept remote refugee applications from Ukrainians. The app is already being used to process refugee applications from individuals in a number of Latin American countries, prompting applicants to submit a selfie image that can be used for identity verification via facial recognition. CBP officials are now adapting the system to track an end user’s physical location during the selfie scan, and are seeking to leverage it to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. The CBP will welcome feedback from the public and concerned agencies for the next two months.

Samsung Ordered to Pay Arbitration Fees in BIPA Case

A federal judge has ordered Samsung Electronics to pay millions of dollars to cover the fees of arbitration cases stemming from a class action lawsuit under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Samsung had tried to argue that only an arbitrator can order arbitration fees to be paid, but U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber disagreed, writing, “Money is the means of dispute resolution, and the way to start this process.” Samsung will have to pay about $4.13 million in case initiation fees to the American Arbitration Association.

X Launches AU10TIX-Powered IDV System

The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has officially launched its selfie-based biometric onboarding feature for “Verified” subscriber accounts, confirming the company’s partnership with identity verification specialist AU10TIX. Those who undertake the IDV process are asked to submit photos of their official ID and a selfie, with facial recognition used to match them and thereby confirm that the information on the ID pertains to the registered user. A line indicating that the account has been ID verified will then be added to the user’s profile.

Innovatrics Celebrates Strong NIST ELFT Results

Innovatrics has achieved strong results in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Evaluation of Latent Fingerprint Technologies (ELFT) testing program, with its solution attaining a rank-five hit rate of 95.1 percent. This figure reflects the percentage of time that the correct subject appears within the top five results of a biometric comparison, and Innovatrics says it is “the most widely used method by fingerprint laboratories across the world where the results are reviewed manually.” Innovatrics was the top performer in this category. The company’s Head of ABIS, Matus Kapusta, says the next version of its ABIS will be released by the end of November of this year.

Open-Source “Identity Operating System” Launches On Web3

A new open-source identity platform has launched on Web3. The “Identity Operating System”, or “idOS”, was developed through a collaboration between Fractal ID, Kwil, NEAR, Gnosis, and Aleph Zero. The platform is designed to be interoperable across multiple different blockchain ecosystems and to be compliant with the European Union’s GDPR regulation. And it offers self-sovereign data management, enabling users to manage their own identity information without working with any third party entities. The companies behind it say they have “a roadmap for progressive decentralization and plans to deploy across multiple decentralized chains, ensuring scalability and security.”

IDVerse Teams With Gambling Software Provider

Playtech has partnered with IDVerse, adding the latter’s selfie-based onboarding solution to its portfolio. Playtech lays claim to being the world’s largest provider of online gambling software; and its partnership with IDVerse is aimed at allowing its clients to implement a remote onboarding system for their players. News of the partnership arrives on the heels of IDVerse’s partnership with Nimo, a SaaS lending platform for banks and lenders. It’s the latest sign of momentum for IDVerse after rebranding from its previous name, OCR Labs, earlier this year.

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September 15, 2023 – by Alex Perala