Biometric Surveillance Tech: Evaluation, Implementation and Defensibility

CCTV cameras are proliferating in response to increased social disorder, theft and fraud. The new widespread availability of artificial intelligence means CCTV cameras can now be enhanced with object/behaviour detection, face detection and face recognition. This panel will explore competing definitions of biometric information (and resulting business and regulatory uncertainty), the scope of recent federal privacy commissioner guidance on biometrics, and the approach to biometric technologies in Quebec. The audience will hear about the challenges of developing and implementing this technology, from both the vendor and purchaser perspectives. Speakers will also discuss recent and ongoing biometric litigation in the retail setting and the employment context, and what companies and privacy professionals should consider when evaluating technologies, conducting privacy impact assessments, and managing the information used by such technologies.

What you will learn: 

• What is/is not, "biometric information", as set out in Quebec law, federal privacy commissioner guidance and international standards.
• How to understand the technology and ask the right questions so privacy impact assessments are meaningful.
• A practical understanding of the test for acceptable use (i.e., necessity, effectiveness, minimal intrusiveness, proportionality) and how to avoid the pitfalls that other companies and institutions have experienced.