Biometric Passports and Identity Cards: Technical, Legal, and Policy Issues

It is very likely that in a few years time, most persons travelling around the world will possess a travel document that includes a biometric identifier. While states pushed ahead with passports first, biometric ID cards will most likely follow in the near future in the UK and other countries. This development could have a major impact on research in the field of biometrics, as well as on the market of ID solutions. However, the use of biometrics poses highly controversial technical and legal problems. The technical issues are addressed by standardisation activities, which are conducted by the ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 37 and 17, as well as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). From the legal perspective, states have to comply with privacy requirements enshrined in constitutions and international treaties when implementing biometric data in ID documents. The most important questions concern the choice of the biometric, the storage in central databases, the use in private applications, and the installation of back-up procedures to avoid discrimination. In the end, the question of whether a project as identity cards with biometric data will be accepted in the population should not be underestimated.