Data Privacy Laws Targeting Biometric and Geolocation Technologies

摘要

Technology and the use of smartphones have created a world of anywhere, anytime convenience. Customers now demand the ability to make transactions on the go and expect to use geolocation data, or information about their specific location, to improve their experience. Mobile applications often use geolocation, and customers often rely on geolocation to obtain basic services from those apps, including receiving tum-by-turn directions, checking the weather, locating the nearest brick-and-mortar storefront, identifying the closest ATM, or receiving customer-specific advertising or deals offered by nearby retail and restaurant locations. Along with the rise of geolocation, many applications now utilize biometric authentication, such as a fingerprint scan. Biometric authentication adds an additional layer of security. For example, a customer who seeks to make a purchase, access a mobile application, or perform various other mobile tasks and transactions may be required to provide a fingerprint scan before the application will allow the user to access personal and sensitive data. These technologies are often seen as necessary to help safeguard personal data and serve as useful tools in identifying fraudulent transactions. As the advantages and popularity of geolocation and biometrics in the mobile industry increase, so have concerns of privacy advocates and regulators who are concerned that these technologies have the potential for abuse if data is compromised. Traditionally, lawmakers have addressed the problem of data security primarily through legislation aimed at preventing or properly notifying consumers and regulatory agencies of the unauthorized disclosure and potential misuse of numerical or factual data associated with the user. Recently, however, lawmakers are focusing instead on the collection and use of data associated with the device, as well as that associated with the user's biological identifiers. There are obvious concerns with data that tracks an individual's location, as well as data associated with a person's biological characteristics, and states are beginning to take a more active role in regulating these types of data. This survey will explore the characteristics of geolocation and biometric data and its use, as well as the recent regulatory and legal focus on geolocation and biometric data privacy and consumer protection.