Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:
EU Lawmakers Settle On Broad Definition of AI
Lawmakers at the European Parliament have settled on the OECD’s definition as their model for characterizing the artificial intelligence to be covered in the forthcoming AI Act, defining it as “a machine-based system that is designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, generate output such as predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing physical or virtual environments”—though they are working to remove the “machine-based” component, reports Euractiv. The definition would stretch the regulation’s scope to cover not only biometric systems but also generative chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. And where an AI system is integrated into a larger system that is dependent upon it, the larger system will also be considered part of a single AI system.
US Lawmakers Propose Ban On Federal Facial Recognition
A coalition of mostly Democratic legislators, alongside Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has introduced legislation aimed at banning the federal use of facial recognition into both the House and the Senate. The bill also prohibits the use of voice recognition and federal spending on biometric surveillance systems. It has been endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Lawmakers backing the bill include Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), among others. Previous efforts to push such legislation through Congress have failed.
Facebook BIPA Litigants Get Another $30
Illinois residents who cashed in on Facebook’s $650 million settlement of its biometric privacy lawsuit under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) are going to get even more money. In addition to the $397 checks sent out near the end of February, each claimant is expected to get another $30 thanks unclaimed funds in Facebook’s settlement account. “Sometimes there’s leftover money,” explained Jay Edelson, the attorney who filed the lawsuit back in 2015.
NEC Flies to Passenger Terminal Expo
NEC Corporation of America will be at next week’s Passenger Terminal Expo, taking the opportunity to showcase its biometric and digital identity solutions for air travel on the show floor. The company is renowned in the air travel space for its NEC I:Delight platform, which has been embraced by SITA in its Smart Path solution for airports. The event is slated to run March 14 to 16, and NEC will be showing off its tech from booth 2140 on the exhibition floor
Zwipe Teams With Indonesian Smart Card Maker
Zwipe has established a partnership with Wahyukartu, Indonesia’s largest smart card manufacturer serving the identity market. The partnership will see Wahyukartu leverage Zwipe’s technology and expertise in the production of personalized biometric payment cards. “With Wahyukartu’s strong and diverse customer presence, this collaboration strengthens Zwipe’s position in the APAC market,” said Zwipe CEO Robert Puskaric.
Lithuanian Crypto Exchange Uses iDenfy’s Onboarding Tech
GOAT Finance, a Lithuania-based cryptocurrency exchange, is now using iDenfy technology for customer onboarding. For end users, that means identity verification can be completing through the use of selfie-based biometrics, with iDenfy’s facial recognition being used to match their images to those of their identity documents. That process is further reinforced by liveness detection technology and an in-house team of experts specializing in verifying the automated system’s results. “Our priority is to spread the Bitcoin and blockchain philosophy worldwide,” said GOAT Finance CEO Paul Andres Padilla. “To achieve this goal, we rely on partnerships such as iDenfy.”
Financial Services Drives Strong Growth for IDnow
IDnow is reporting 52 percent growth in from its AI-powered portfolio over 2022. Best known for its selfie-based identity verification technology, IDnow says it saw particularly strong growth in the financial services sector, where revenues increased 97 percent year-over-year, followed by growth in the telecommunications sector (at 40 percent year-over-year) and the mobility and travel sector (at 16 percent). And following its acquisition of ARIADNEXT in 2021, IDnow saw 117 percent growth outside of France and the DACH region, where it is based.
RBC Researchers Point to On-device Biometrics for Offline CBDC Payments
Researchers with the Royal Bank of Canada have found considerable promise in the prospect of enabling offline payments using a central bank digital currency, but caution that strong security mechanisms must be in place. In a staff analytical note, the RBC analysts explain that “an offline CBDC may require secure hardware with controls to guard against unauthorized tampering, as well as a user-specific personal identification number (PIN), password or biometric authentication stored on the device itself.” Read the full story on Mobile ID World.
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March 7, 2023 – by Alex Perala
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