By the year 2021, the European Union will have a database of fingerprints, photographs for facial recognition, passport numbers and birth dates of all its 350 million citizens. Data that are measurements of a person’s body, such as a photograph of their face, are known as biometric data. In the EU, the biometric database will be called CIR, for Common Identity Repository. The database will also allow searches of other databases to match citizens posing with multiple identities, which will aid border control and security agencies. Critics are concerned that with so much information in one database, it will be a target for security breaches. With many agencies having shared access to the biometric database, there could be more exposure and risk to cybercrime and no entity, be it private or government, is invulnerable to security breaches. 

Although the United States does not have a countrywide biometric database such as the EU’s CIR, law enforcement agencies around the country have access to various databases containing biometric data such as photographs. Many of these agencies are now using facial recognition software to search the database for a specific criminal. This searching is controversial because the US lacks most laws governing the use of searching databases for a facial match. For example, in the states of Maryland and Indiana, the police are allowed to search a database of driver’s license photos to recognize a potential criminal, whereas in Oregon, only the database of mug shots is allowably searchable. Legally, driver’s licenses photographs are not considered public record, which presents a dilemma to law enforcement. 

Critical Thinking Questions 

1. Distinguish between the terms data management and data governance. How are biometric databases being managed and how are they being governed? What are the concerns in each segment? 

2. Describe the ethical dilemma of using facial recognition by law enforcement agencies. If in the classroom, hold a debate of the pros and cons.

3. Research how criminals are discovered and arrested using a biometric database. Find one example and report on that. Cite your source. Research the ban on use of biometric databases in San Francisco in 2019, to include in your report.