Biometrics has made the process of identifying people easy. This is helpful in authentication and has many applications.

1. The Impact of Biometric Identification on Civil
Liberties
Biometrics has made the process of identifying people easy. This is
helpful in authentication and has many applications. While there is no
doubt about the benefits of biometrics, there are concerns about its
use. These concerns are related to privacy and civil liberties are listed
by Bahaa Abdul Hadi.
The concerns about biometrics
Biometrics makes use of fingerprints, facial patterns, and iris patterns
of individuals to identify them. This is a secure method of identifying
people and is very helpful in authentication. Biometrics helps in
enhanced security and allows authentication to happen faster. Today,
biometrics is used in many areas and its vast benefits have made it
popular.
A major concern that biometrics presents is the privacy of
individuals. Since personal data that identifies them is stored in a
database, there is a serious risk of breach of privacy. There are also
risks related to loss of civil liberties of individuals. Let’s look at the
key issues involved:
● Since biometrics can be used to identify people, it is possible to
track people through surveillance. In countries like China,
cameras can zoom in on people on the streets and identify them.
This is a serious concern and makes people vulnerable since
they can be tracked and monitored.
● Civil liberties can be affected as people with political views
opposed to the government can be put under surveillance. Such
a surveillance can be used to track and harass dissidents.
● While biometrics is a secure way of authentication, the data is
stored on public databases. There is a serious risk of this data
being hacked. If biometric data of individuals are accessed by

2. criminals, it poses serious problems. Their financial data can be
breached. Hackers may be able to locate them and even carry
out fraud.
● Biometric data collected for a legitimate purpose can be
misused in the future if not managed well. The biometric data
may be shared with others without informing individuals. This is
a serious breach of civil liberties.
● Biometric data contains details of an individual’s gender, race,
sexual orientation, etc. There is a possibility that this data may
be used by businesses to discriminate people. This again is a
violation of civil liberties.
● Police officers can track people using biometric data. This can
be a problem for people who want to legitimately protest against
the government or any other organization. They can be identified
while protesting and subject to harassment.
Conclusion
All these are serious concerns and governments need to work out
ways to address them. The benefits of biometrics must not be
overshadowed by infringement of civil liberties.
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