Biometric Data, Within and Beyond Data Protection
Catherine Jasserand · Amsterdam University Press eBooks · 2024
The new EU data protection framework has introduced the notion of biometric data into the EU data protection landscape. Biometric data are defined as personal data resulting from the technical processing of biometric characteristics for biometric recognition purposes. When these data are processed to ‘uniquely identify’ an individual, they fall into the category of sensitive data and are subject to stricter rules. The legal definition of biometric data creates uncertainty as to which technical stages fall in the legal category of biometric data, what ‘unique identification’ means and whether biometric data, as technically defined, always relate to identifiable individuals. This chapter will answer these questions, taking the example of a facial recognition system and analysing the data generated during the recognition process.