Areas of Strategic Visibility: Disability Bias in Biometrics
It addresses accessibility issues in biometric technologies for disabled individuals, highlighting potential harms in existing systems.
The paper examines how biometric systems can either assist or disadvantage disabled people, noting that many current systems are inaccessible to those experiencing various forms of disability exclusion.
This response to the RFI considers the potential for biometrics to help or harm disabled people2. Biometrics are already integrated into many aspects of daily life, from airport travel to mobile phone use. Yet many of these systems are not accessible to people who experience different kinds of disability exclusion . Different personal characteristics may impact any or all of the physical (DNA, fingerprints, face or retina) and behavioral (gesture, gait, voice) characteristics listed in the RFI as examples of biometric signals.