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Businesses are harvesting our biometric data. We need new protections (thenextweb.com)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/technology

13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

These days, our biometric data is valuable to businesses for security purposes, to enhance customer experience or to improve their own efficiency.

Facial recognition technology [...] scans images or videos from devices including CCTV cameras and picks out faces.

From supermarkets to car parks and railway stations, CCTV cameras are everywhere, silently doing their job. But what exactly is their job now?

Businesses may justify collecting biometric data, but with power comes responsibility and the use of facial recognition raises significant transparency, ethical, and privacy concerns.

If your password gets stolen, you can change it. If your credit card is compromised, you can cancel it. But your face? That’s permanent. Biometric data is incredibly sensitive because it cannot be altered once it’s compromised. This makes it a high-stakes game when it comes to security.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Companies don't care. They bribe they way to victory.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Companies care insomuch as they're lobbing in favor of mask ban laws so they can harvest more of our biometrics. Money is speech, companies are people, and bribes are caring.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

just fyi masking laws in the US date back as far as mid 1800s when NYC tenants got sick of their price gouging landlords, among other colourful examples.

generally the regime is against masks, with exception of covid, and they back to it.

[–] Badeendje 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Luckily in my country it is specifically not allowed. Even phots of someone is biometric data and companies need to explain specifically why they cannot use alternative means. Stuff like fingerprints and irisscan is a big nono

[–] GoMati 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Which country is it? I'm legitimately curious

[–] Badeendje 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The Netherlands

[–] snowyleopard 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sorry, but you should really not walk into a Jumbo then…

[–] Badeendje 1 points 5 months ago

Because they have CCTV? Because facial recognition was not allowed, even for them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Biometric locks are not security against a serious threat actor.

Don't use them unless you don't care if they're compromised.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Article isn’t about biometric locks but rather cctv and such.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

It's talking about using it for security, and how unlike a password it can't be changed. The fact that using it as a password is always dumb is relevant.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Their job now is to serve governments surveillance data.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago

Their job now is to serve governments surveillance data.