By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror
A bill proposed by House Speaker Rusty Bowers would make it illegal for a company to use biometric data for commercial purposes.
House Bill 2478 states that a person may not enroll an individual’s biometric information into a database for commercial use unless certain criteria are met. Anyone who violates the law could be fined up to $10,000 per violation and could face lawsuits as well. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office would also be authorized to investigate and penalize violations of the proposed law.
Companies or individuals would only be able to store a person’s biometric data if he or she gives consent for it to be stored. They also must give that person notice that his or her data will be stored to be used for commercial purposes.
The bill defines biometric data as “data that is generated by automatic measurements of an individual’s biological characteristics, including a fingerprint, voiceprint, retina, iris or other unique biological pattern or characteristic that is used to identify a specific individual.”
