Biometrics, Retinal Scanning, and the Right to Privacy in the 21st Century

Abstract

Biometric identification techniques such as retinal scanning and fingerprinting have now become commonplace, but near-future improvements on these methods present troubling issues for personal privacy. For example, retinal scanning can be used to diagnose certain medical conditions, even ones for which the patient has no symptoms or has any other way of detecting the problem. If a health insurance company scans the retinas of potential clients before they purchase coverage, they could be charged higher premiums for conditions that do not present any issues. Not only is this unfair, but the ease with which these scans can be conducted - including scanning without the subject’s consent or knowledge - present disturbing privacy concerns and suggest an Orwellian future, controlled by Big Business rather than Big Brother.

Keywords: biometrics, biometric identification, retinal scanning