Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies

The report examines the shift from individual-centric privacy concerns to the broader societal ethics of biometric technologies. It analyzes how the integration of biometric data into large-scale networked databases facilitates 'function creep,' where data collected for one purpose (e.g., humanitarian aid or refugee management) is repurposed for security and policing. Through case studies in the UK, EU, and India, the authors argue that biometrics are transforming human identity into 'coded' information, potentially eroding social trust, increasing exclusion for 'unreadable' bodies, and altering the relationship between the citizen and the state.

• Biometric technologies are shifting the basis of identification from 'indexical data' (documents) to 'biocentric data' (the body), creating a necessary rather than contingent relation of identity.
• There is a significant risk of 'function creep,' where biometric data is used for purposes other than those for which it was originally collected, often driven by security rationales that override privacy protections.
• The integration of biometric databases across different government sectors (e.g., welfare, health, and policing) enables the tracking of individuals and the 'automatic sorting of mobilities,' potentially creating a divided society of connected and disconnected classes.
• Biometric systems are not infallible; they possess inherent error rates that can disproportionately affect specific groups, such as African-Americans in the US NGI database.
• Large-scale biometric schemes can lead to new forms of social exclusion, particularly for individuals whose biological traits are 'unreadable' by the system due to manual labor or disease.
• The 'informatisation of the body' transforms human identity into a set of coded signals, replacing biographical narratives and social negotiation of trust with binary technical verification.
• In the European Union, the EURODAC database, originally for asylum management, has seen its purpose expand to allow law enforcement and Europol to compare fingerprints for criminal investigations.
• India's Aadhaar system, the world's largest biometric database with over 1 billion residents, serves as a global template for using biometrics as a foundation for both state service delivery and security.
• The use of facial recognition in the UK for scanning public crowds, such as at festivals or carnivals, creates a 'perpetual lineup' where individuals are monitored without having committed any crime.

APA

Boy, N., Lidén, K., & Jacobsen, E. K. U. (2018). Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ad948aca-26ab-4d34-ba88-4094d9f2ff08/Boy Jacobsen and Lidn Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies-2018.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Boy, Nina, Kristoffer Lidén, and Elida K. U. Jacobsen. Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2018. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ad948aca-26ab-4d34-ba88-4094d9f2ff08/Boy Jacobsen and Lidn Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies-2018.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Boy |first1=Nina |last2=Lidén |first2=Kristoffer |last3=Jacobsen |first3=Elida K. U. |title=Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2018 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ad948aca-26ab-4d34-ba88-4094d9f2ff08/Boy Jacobsen and Lidn Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies-2018.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{boy2018societal, author = {Boy, Nina and Lidén, Kristoffer and Jacobsen, Elida K. U.}, title = {{Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2018}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/ad948aca-26ab-4d34-ba88-4094d9f2ff08/Boy Jacobsen and Lidn Societal Ethics of Biometric Technologies-2018.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }