Biometrics: legal issues and implications

Legal notice Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. Disclaimer The author of this report is solely responsible for the content, style, language and editing. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. European Parliament (the LIBE Committee) asked the JRC to carry out a study on the future impact of biometric technologies. The report Biometrics at the Frontiers: Assessing the Impact on Society (EUR: 21585) 1 is the result of this request. The work was carried out by staff from the IPTS ICT Unit, in collaboration with a number of external experts. Four experts were asked to contribute to the study, expressing their views on the technical, legal, social and economic implications of biometrics. The above mentioned report Biometrics at the Frontiers: Assessing the Impact on Society contains the summarised contributions from these experts (in Chapter 3). More extended versions of their contributions are published on the IPTS website as background studies. The present document is the extended version from Paul de Hert on legal issues and implications.