The legality of workplace fingerprinting has changed in Europe, and authorities now consider it illegal, posing the threat of fines.
Image Credit AI Generated In 2007, the Supreme Court deemed fingerprint use for clocking in as legitimate. However, a recent European directive has altered this perspective, stating that such biometric entry control systems violate the regulations of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD). The article highlights the evolution of regulations, including the 2016 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which initially categorized fingerprint systems as legal for authentication. In April 2023, new guidelines from the European Data Protection Committee unified authentication and identification criteria, categorizing both as a "special category" for data processing. Consequently, the AEPD has updated its directives, declaring fingerprint or facial recognition systems prohibited in general, except in specific cases outlined in the GDPR. The immediate application of this interpretation means companies using biometric recognition systems in 2023 could face sanctions from the