Proposer's Name: Ms. Maria Paz Canales
Proposer's Organization: Derechos Digitales
Co-Proposer's Name: Ms. Marianne Diaz
Co-Proposer's Organization: Derechos Digitales
Co-Organizers:
Maria Paz Canales, Civil Society, Derechos Digitales
Marianne Diaz, Civil Society, Derechos Digitales
Session Format: Debate - 60 Min
Proposer:
Country: Chile
Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
Co-Proposer:
Country: Venezuela
Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
Speaker: Marianne Diaz
Speaker: Leandro Ucciferri
Speaker: Martin Borgioli
Speaker: Moses Karanja
Speaker: Chinmayi Arun
Content of the Session:
Biometric technology has grown steadily in use for the most different purposes, by governments and private actors, without a proper discussion about its impacts, without sufficient transparency of its providers and the conditions of security of the information, and without discussion about the impacts the individuals whose data goes in the machine (beyond the enthusiasm for larger amounts of data). From national identity cards and airport controls, to health service providers and retail vendors, biometry has become synonymous with identification. All in contexts where data protection laws and privacy safeguards are nonexistent or ineffective, where governments are eager to gather "data" for any purpose, and where foreign companies easily gain the attention of local governments to provide these technologies as "solutions".
In this session, we will address the human right issues surrounding the implementation of biometric technologies for identification in developing countries, in order to discuss how its deployment could affect privacy and freedom of expression, and how it already may be affecting it. We will bring together digital rights activists from different countries, who will discuss implementation cases from their own countries, along with actual and potential consequences and implications regarding their specific context.
Relevance of the Session:
Biometrics solutions imply a huge amount of lost of control form the subject of their ability to manage their own identities in the physical and digital realm. Panelists will address the possible advantages and the oft-ignored disadvantages to the use of these technologies, and will exchange their approaches and experiences to contribute to a debate of the most appropiate policies to allow empowerment of the people in the managing of their own identities in the digital future.
Tag 1: Privacy
Tag 2: Human Rights
Tag 3: Digital Rights
Interventions:
Each speaker will have opportunity to briefly present her experience in the research of biometric technology implementation in their own countries by public or private entities and the risks and challenges that that implementation has possed to the human rights exercises in the local context.
We will ask them to share the obstacle and challenges confronted in their research and the policy and advocacy alternatives that can be develop to confront the use of biometric solutions.
Diversity:
The proposed speakers include some leading researcher women on the topic in the Global South. The proposed speakers are representatives of Global South countries with different levels of development, working on Civil Society organisations and academic institutions. Some of them will be for the first time speakers at an IGF session.
Onsite Moderator: Gisela Perez de Acha
Online Moderator: Vladimir Garay
Rapporteur: Maria Paz Canales
Online Participation:
The workshop moderator will have the online participation session open, and will be in close communication with the workshop’s trained online moderator, to make any adaptations necessary as they arise. The online moderator will intermediate the questions and comments provided by the online attendees, by each question in the room, it will be one question selected by the online moderator from the ones formulated by online attendees.
Discussion facilitation:
The aim is to have a multistakeholder discussion around the use of biometric technology in the Global South. We will achieve so by inviting several experts to represent different and diverse points of view. A set of questions, tailor-made for each speaker by the moderator, will aim to foster debate and get some answers on the topic. Each panelist will have two rounds to present their topics, and at the end questions will be opened to the public and to online participants.
Conducted a Workshop in IGF before?: No
Link to Report:
Speakers:
Opening. The moderator will briefly introduce the topic and the panel members. The moderator will address each of the panelist using these talking points to lead the discussion; we will devote about ten minutes to each question:
Question-and-answer: we will take questions from the audience, and we will turn to our panelist for their closing remarks.
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