The Ryder Review and the future of biometrics governance

On 29 June the Ada Lovelace Institute published two new reports today on the governance of biometric technologies, the culmination of a three-year programme of research.

• Countermeasures: the need for new legislation to govern biometric technologies in the UK, the Institute’s new policy report on biometrics
• The Ryder Review: an independent legal review of the governance of biometric data in England and Wales, commissioned by the Institute in 2020

Biometric data is uniquely personal. It encompasses our faces, fingerprints, walking style (gait), tone of voice and other measurements related to our bodies. Biometric technologies can be used to recognise and identify us, but they are also being used to categorise and make inferences about us.

These technologies, which used to be almost exclusively in the domain of policing, are being used by a growing number of private and public actors, including employers, schools and retailers, for a variety of purposes. While these technologies promise efficiencies, they also raise significant legal and ethical concerns around privacy, free expression, discrimination and other impacts on human rights.

Based on Matthew Ryder QC’s independent legal analysis, as well as in-depth public deliberation and policy research, we are making the case for Government to act now and bring forward new, primary legislation to ensure that biometric technologies work for people and society.

We hosted an in-person event at the Royal Society where the findings of both reports were presented to relevant stakeholders, including MPs, Lords, policy decisionmakers, civil society organisations, policing representatives and academic researchers. Expert guests were invited to reflect on the Ryder Review and Ada’s recommendations. You can watch a recording of the launch event below.

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