학술논문

Reframing biometric surveillance: from a means of inspection to a form of control
Document Type
Original Paper
Author
Source
Ethics and Information Technology. 21(2):127-136
Subject
Surveillance
Biometric technologies
Social sorting
Identity management
Privacy
Algorithms
Language
English
ISSN
1388-1957
1572-8439
Abstract
This paper reviews the social scientific literature on biometric surveillance, with particular attention to its potential harms. It maps the harms caused by biometric surveillance, traces their theoretical origins, and brings these harms together in one integrative framework to elucidate their cumulative power. Demonstrating these harms with examples from the United States, the European Union, and Israel, I propose that biometric surveillance be addressed, evaluated and reframed as a new form of control rather than simply another means of inspection. I conclude by delineating three features of biometric technologies—complexity, objectivity, and agency—that demonstrate their social power and draw attention to the importance of studying biometric surveillance.