Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 354 • Big Data Surveillance (2015 to 2020): Big Data Surveillance | The Surveillance Studies Centre (surveillance-studies.ca) Biometrics and Facial Recognition Biometrics refers to the technology of measuring, analyzing, and processing the digital representations of unique biological data and behavioral traits such as fingerprints, eye retinas, irises, voice and facial patterns, gaits, body odors and hand geometry.847 Facial recognition is the collection and processing of biometric facial data. It uses complex image processing techniques to detect and analyze the biometric features of an individual’s face for the purposes of identification or verification of an individual’s identity.848 A well-known case of the use of facial recognition that raised privacy concerns was the riots that occurred when the Vancouver Canucks lost in the Stanley Cup finals in June 2011. The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) offered the police the use of its facial recognition software to assist police in identifying individuals involved in the riots. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia found that British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (BC FIPPA) did not authorize the change in use of ICBC’s facial recognition database and ordered ICBC to immediately cease responding to requests from police to use its facial recognition database.849 Quebec is the only jurisdiction within Canada that has enacted legislation to govern the use of biometrics. Section 44 of Quebec’s Act to Establish a Legal Framework for Information Technology limits the situations in which a person’s identity may be verified or confirmed through biometric characteristic or measurements. Further, section 45 of the Act to Establish a Legal Framework for Information Technology requires organizations to inform Quebec’s Commission d’accès à l’information (the Commission) of the creation of a database of biometric characteristics and measurements. It also allows the Commission to make orders regarding such databases. For more information, check out the Commission’s website at: https://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/biometrie/. 847 BC IPC Investigation Report F12-01 at [35]. 848 Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Privacy guidance on facial recognition for police agencies, available at Privacy guidance on facial recognition for police agencies - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Accessed December 22, 2022. 849 BC IPC Investigation Report F12-01.
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