Abstract
Biometric technologies have become the main focus in the design of state-of-the-art border security solutions. While respective research in the field of multimedia vision has been centred around improving quality and accuracy of identity recognition, the impact of such technologies upon society and legal regulations still remains a topic unaddressed, specifically within the engineering community. Research in technology can and in some respect must include collaboration with social sciences and social practice. Building on participation in the EU funded research project PERSONA [18] (Privacy, Ethical, Regulatory and SOcial No-gate crossing point solutions Acceptance), authors of this paper look at the challenges associated with biometrics-based solutions in no-gate border crossing point scenarios. This included the procedures needed for the assessment of their social, ethical, privacy and regulatory acceptance, particularly in view of the impact on both, the passengers and border control authorities as well as the potential pitfalls of biometric technology due to fraudulent activities. In consultation with the collaborating border control authorities, the paper reports on the formal assessment of biometric technologies for real-world acceptance to cope with the increasing demand of global travellers crossing state borders.
Highlights
The arising need at EU border crossings for efficient processing of an ever-increasing number of travellers calls for more flexible, automated and scalable “no-gate” border security solutions
This paper demonstrates on the example of relevant border security technology how metrics considered in the PERSONA impact assessment method can be adopted by or inform investigative technological thinking, where a positive evaluation result under the impact assessment method proposed by PERSONA forms one of the goals, and where interdisciplinary collaboration is being fostered
It is important to note that the implementation of the no-gate crossing should consider the appointment of a data controller who is responsible for identifying the right legal framework applicable, which could be: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Law Enforcement Directive (LED) for which it will still be necessary to refer to national rules implementing the Directive, or EUDPR. This is elucidated further in the following extract from PERSONA deliverable D3.1 [24, 25]: a) “Under the GDPR and Art. 39 EUDPR, in order to determine whether a process of Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) is required by law, the envisaged initiative has to be examined against the following six criteria: i Criterion 1 – high risk: at a most general level, the GDPR requires a process of DPIA to be carried out (a) for processing operations likely to present a high risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects, taking into account four qualitative criteria, namely the nature, scope, context and purpos of the processing of personal data; and (b) for data processing operations involving new technologies which constitute a particular trigger for the assessment process [Art. 35(1)]
Summary
The arising need at EU border crossings for efficient processing of an ever-increasing number of travellers calls for more flexible, automated and scalable “no-gate” border security solutions. The challenges of biometric technology development are reaching beyond improved accuracy in recognition This method will likely comprise state-of-the-art technology in the shape of an information system and a network of sensors capable of detecting, recording, processing, and storing data which would otherwise have to be collected by traditional, more time-consuming means. This type of technology might be deployed in the vicinity of border crossing points, e.g., on the traveller’s way to the departure gate as shown in Fig. 1 [18], and/or it could be mobile/remote and perform checks on travellers along their journey, e.g., as early as “on the plane/train” before arrival or at the traveller’s home before journey commence, via remote online data-collection.
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