Biometric data is any kind of information about an individual’s physical appearance and is used for a variety of different purposes: to verify your identity via face ID or fingerprint on your smart phone, it’s used on social media to tag people in photos or in apps to compile albums of specific people. The growing use of our bodies to unlock areas of the public and private sphere has raised severe concerns regarding privacy and the use of this data for surveillance purposes.
Biometric technology ultimately uses human characteristics to identify individuals and is therefore a form of surveillance. When systems or technologies are used to process anyone’s biometric data in public spaces such as parks, squares or online public spaces this can be considered biometric mass surveillance. These technologies work by collecting or analysing the biometric data of everyone that enters those spaces, even if their data is later discarded. This creates a genuine perception of being watched all the time.
In this project, noyb
- filed complaints against Clearview AI, Inc., a facial recognition company that claims to have "the largest known database of 3+ billion facial images" attained from social media accounts and other online sources.
- achieved the unlawfulness of Clearview in the EU
- calls for a European prohibition on uses which constitute mass surveillance, regardless of whether they are deployed by public or private actors
| Case | Controller | DPA | Status | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C042 | PimEyes | HmbBfDI (Hamburg) | Pending (3 - 4 years) | Filed:
(3 years 8 months ago) |
| C043 | Clearview AI | DSB (Austria) | Pending (2 - 3 years) | Filed:
Closed: (1 year 11 months) |
| C065 | Ryanair DAC | AEPD (Spain), DPC (Ireland) | Pending (6 - 12 months) | Filed:
(8 months 3 weeks ago) |
