News

Professor Nita Farahany JD/MA ’04 PhD ’06 has been named Reporter for a joint project by the American Law Institute (ALI) and the European Law Institute (ELI) examining the ethical and legal implications of collecting and using biometric data.

Farahany, the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, will serve as ALI Reporter for Principles for the Governance of Biometrics, which aims to develop a common vocabulary and a framework to guide lawmakers in regulating the use of biometric technologies in the context of a constitutional democracy.

Farahany, a leading thinker and scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies, has long been concerned with the treatment of biometric data, especially in its increasing number of applications outside the medical field. In her 2023 book The Battle for Your Brain: Defending Your Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology (St. Martin’s Press, 2023), she advocates an individual right to cognitive liberty, or mental privacy, to guard against the unauthorized use of brain data collected through neurotechnology. In addition to serving in numerous state, federal, and international legal, scientific, and ethics organizations, she is the founding director of Duke Science and Society and the faculty director of the Duke MA in Bioethics & Science Policy.

Karen Yeung of the University of Birmingham, Law School and School of Computer Science, has been named ELI Reporter and Caroline Lequesne of the University of Cote d’Azure will serve as Associate Reporter.

Farahany said the project has four initial goals:

• Define key terms and develop a classification system for biometric systems, technologies, and data;
• Examine the technologies and systems used to collect and process biometric data, as well as the legal, political, technological, and economic context in which they are used;
• Evaluate the benefits and harms of biometric technologies, considering their impact on society and the evidence supporting their claims; and
• Consider the legal frameworks governing data, AI, and related technologies in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, to identify any gaps or inconsistencies.

“The project may also consider whether the categories of biometric data, biometric technologies, or biometric inferences are in any way unique, whether they present unique risks, or whether they overlap with existing categories,” Farahany said.

“For example, is biodata, from an ethical point of view, distinct from other forms of ‘sensitive’ data? Are there inherent issues with the collection and use of cognitive biometric data that require special consideration in particular contexts such as employment, advertising, or health—for example, due to their unique connection to the human body, or their potential to involuntarily reveal information?”

The project will be conducted by a team of experts from fields including law, technology, ethics, and social sciences. Findings will be made publicly available and will inform policy discussions and debates on the future of biometric technologies.