U.S. Businesses Using Biometrics Need to Monitor Congressional Action as Proposal Imposes Privacy Obligations
Despite the unlikelihood that the National Biometric Information Privacy Act recently tabled by U.S. Senators Merkley and Sanders will pass, the breadth of legal exposure will clearly continue to trend upwards, according to an editorial by a pair of experts from Blank Rome LLP for Law360.
Blank Rome Partner Jeffrey N. Rosenthal and Associate David J. Oberly, who recently told Biometric Update in an email that they have launched a dedicated Biometric Privacy Team at the firm, write that the proposed national law is similar to the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) of Illinois, the U.S.’ most stringent and litigious state law on biometrics. The notice and consent requirements, as well as the right of private action, and mandated security measures for biometric data, are major points of agreement between the acts.
One major difference, Rosenthal and Oberly write, are that the proposed national act explicitly does away with the barriers to legal standing which have led to the dismissal of some BIPA claims. Technical violations of the rules are specifically identified as sufficient to establish standing. Another is that the federal bill includes a “right-to-know” clause, like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
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“U.S. Businesses Using Biometrics Need to Monitor Congressional Action as Proposal Imposes Privacy Obligations,” by Chris Burt was published in Biometric Update on August 31, 2020.