The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is producing guidance on biometric data and biometric technologies.
The first phase of this guidance (draft biometric data guidance) is now published for public consultation.
The second phase of this guidance (biometric classification and data protection) will include a call for evidence early next year.
We have been listening to views on biometrics to inform our work in this area, including including research from the British Youth Council and the Ada Lovelace Institute, and the Citizens’ Biometrics Council.
The draft biometric data guidance explains how data protection law applies when you use biometric data in biometric recognition systems.
The consultation will run from 18 August to 20 October 2023.
We may not consider responses submitted after the deadline.
We are also seeking views on a draft summary economic impact assessment for this guidance. Your responses will help us understand the code’s practical impact on organisations and individuals.
Responding to the consultation
You can respond to the consultation in the following ways.
- Complete the MS Forms survey – please include your email address if you wish to contribute to further case studies, or if you are happy to be contacted about any of your responses to our impact assessment.
- Download the Word document and either email your response to [email protected], putting ‘consultation response’ in the email subject, or print off the documents and post to:
Identity and Trust Team (Technology Policy)
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Privacy statement
For this consultation we may publish the responses received from organisations or a summary of the responses. We will not publish responses from individuals acting in a private capacity. If we do publish any responses, we will remove email addresses and telephone numbers from these responses but apart from this we will publish them in full.
Please be mindful not to share any information in your response which you would not be happy for us to make publicly available.
Should we receive an FOI request for your response we will always seek to consult with you for your views on the disclosure of this information before any decision is made.
For more information about what we do with personal data please see our privacy notice.