BioMetrics Page 2

DIfferent Countries that may use or use Biometrics

• The United States government has become a strong advocate of biometrics with the increase in security concerns in recent years. Starting in 2005, US passports with facial (image-based) biometric data were scheduled to be produced. Privacy activists in many countries have criticized the technology's use for the potential harm to civil liberties, privacy, and the risk of identity theft. Currently, there is some apprehension in the United States (and the European Union) that the information can be skimmed and identify people's citizenship remotely for criminal intent, such as kidnapping. There also are technical difficulties currently delaying biometric integration into passports in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the rest of the EU. These difficulties include compatibility of reading devices, information formatting, and nature of content (e.g. the US and UK currently expect to use only image data, whereas the EU intends to use fingerprint and image data in their passport RFID biometric chips.
• The biometrics market in Germany will experience enormous growth until 2009. �The market size will increase from approximately 12 million � (2004) to 377 million �� (2009). �The federal government will be a major contributor to this development� [2]. In particular, the biometric procedures of fingerprint and facial recognition can profit from the government project [3]. In May 2005 the German Upper House of Parliament approved the implementation of the ePass, a passport issued to all German citizens which contain biometric technology.
• Visitors intending to visit Australia may soon have to submit to biometric authentication, linking individuals to their visas and passports. Biometric data are already collected from some visa applicants by Immigration. Other applications include authentication of gym users.