CardTech / SecurTech

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CardTech / SecurTech 99Im Not Your Big Brother

• How to Advocate Biometrics Legislation
• in the Age of Privacy Fears
• Presented by
• Tim Schellberg, J.D. -- Industry Lobbyist
• Smith Alling Lane, P.S.

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Legislative History of Biometrics

• Pre-privacy paranoia -- Legislative acceptance of
  biometrics.
• Fingerprints for employment never challenged
• Fingerprints for drivers license not opposed
  prior to 1995
• Present trends
• Proposing biometrics for drivers licenses and
  social services is always a battle.
• Legislation is frequently introduced to prevent
  and/or regulate biometrics.

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What Caused Legislators to See Biometrics as a
Threat

• Privacy rights explosion
• Caused primarily by the corporate abuse of
  information.
• Political factors
• Legislators see more political value in
  supporting privacy interests than law enforcement
  interests.

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Legislative Examples

• 1. Biometrics and Drivers Licenses
• States that have considered legislation requiring
  a finger image
• A. Before 1995
• California -- passed
• Colorado -- passed
• Georgia -- passed
• Hawaii -- passed
• Texas -- passed
• B. After 1995
• Alabama -- failed
• New Jersey (Smart card -- future biometric) --
  failed
• Utah (Smart card -- future biometric) -- failed
• Washington -- failed
• West Virginia -- failed
• Louisiana -- failed
• Florida--failed
• Missouri--failed
• New York--failed
• C. Preventing the Future Use of Finger Images

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Legislative Examples (cont.)

• 2. Biometrics and Social Services
• Legislators do not react as strongly when
  biometrics affects a small class of individuals
  receiving a government subsidy. However,
  legislative battles still exist.
• 3. Prohibiting Biometrics for Banking
• In 1998 and 1999 eight states introduced bills
  to prevent banks from requiring fingerprints
  prior to cashing a check
• California (1998, AB 2265)
• Georgia (1999, HB 481 HB 50)
• Missouri (1998, AB 1828)
• Pennsylvania (1998, HB 15 1999, HB 22)
• Connecticut (1999, SB 697)
• Maryland (1999, SB 270)
• Delaware (1999, SB 697)
• Nebraska (1999, LB 306)

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Legislative Examples (cont.)

• 4. Regulating Biometrics
• California Senate Bill 71 -- Regulating
  biometrics.
• Colorado Senate Bill 174 -- Prohibits sale of
  biometric information.
• Washington Senate Bill 6399 (1998) -- Prohibits
  one-to-many facial recognition searches of DMV
  database.
• New York Assembly Bill 7644 (1997) -- Prohibits
  law enforcement from digitizing student pictures.
• Virginia House Bill 507 - Requires purging of
  finger images used for commercial purposes
• Missouri House Bill 659 - Businesses cannot
  request fingerprints
• 5. Incentive Legislation
• New York Senate Bill 2957 -- If banks provide
  customers with biometrics then the bank Is not
  liable for unauthorized access.
• Rhode Island House Bill 5924 -- Firearm dealers
  are not liable for harm caused by handguns which
  have mechanisms that prevent firing -- such as
  biometrics.

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Proactive vs. Regulatory Biometrics Legislation

• Advocating Proactive Legislation
• Subject to the difficulties of passing
  legislation.
• Government mandates requiring citizens to be
  subject to biometric searches is always going to
  be a tough sell.
• Controversial legislation is more difficult to
  pass.
• The future will be brighter when the privacy
  paranoia fades.
• Preventing Anti-Biometric Legislation
• It is always easier to defeat a bill than to pass
  one.
• Private sector biometrics will avoid over
  regulation as powerful interest groups (law
  enforcement, retailers, financial institutions
  and high-tech interests) are capable of defending
  our interests. The problem, however, is getting
  notice to the interest groups (i.e., repeal of
  drivers license finger image authority in
  Michigan SB 4635. Law enforcement and retail
  interests were not aware of this bill until it
  was too late) .

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How Can Biometric Proponents Fight Back in the
Legislatures?

• Just do it
• Avoid the legislature when possible
• Convincing the legislature that biometrics is
  privacys friend
• A mission of the International Biometrics
  Industry Association (IBIA)
• Know your adversaries
• Far right and far left legislators
• Far right and far left citizens groups
• ACLU
• Anti high-tech interests
• Urban print media
• Talk radio
• Biometrics themselves
• Know your arguments
• When a privacy interest does not exist
• The Constitution
• Slippery slope
• Accepted behavior for silent majority
• Keeping up with criminal use of technology
• Technology allows law enforcement more time to
  focus on serious crimes

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CASE STUDY1997 Washington State Drivers License
Biometric Legislation

• Washington State was responding to a massive
  fraudulent identification problem.
• The Coalition for a Reliable Drivers License
• Comprised of law enforcement, banking and retail
  interests
• Extraordinary lobbying effort
• The opponents of the 1997 Legislation
• ACLU
• High-tech privacy association
• Far right and far left citizen groups and
  legislators (mostly right)
• Media and talk radio
• How the Coalition presented its case
• Finger imaging prior to receiving a drivers
  license is not intrusive
• People who believe finger imaging is intrusive
  must balance the level of intrusiveness against
  the benefits
• Opponents arguments and the misconceptions of
  the finger imaging requirement
• How the legislation was defeated
• Legislative paranoia
• The fringe element

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SUMMARY

• Privacy abuses, advances in technology and
  political factors have created a privacy
  paranoia. Consequently, the biometric industry
  and their users are finding it difficult to pass
  proactive legislation. Furthermore, they
  increasingly have to fight unreasonable
  regulatory legislation.
• Passing proactive biometric legislation will
  remain difficult until the privacy concerns fade.
  However, powerful interest groups will be able
  to protect the use of biometrics from
  unreasonable regulatory legislation.
• The key to future legislative success convince
  the public and legislators that biometrics is
  privacys friend.

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Questions and Answers