On April 14, Moscow hosted a nationwide student research conference on biometrics, organized by the School of Digital Law and Bio-Law of the Law Department of the Higher School of Economics, with the support of the Youth Council of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ.
The conference, Development of Biometrics in Russia and Abroad, brought together students, lawyers, and representatives of regulators and IT companies to discuss approaches to regulating biometric technologies.
The keynote event of the conference was the plenary session on Legal Framework for Biometrics Regulation in the Russian Federation. The discussion was attended by experts from the Center for Biometric Technologies, the Internet Research Institute, TBank, as well as members of the academic community and business. The participants considered the problems of personal data protection, the specifics of Russian laws regulating biometrics, and international experience in regulating this rapidly developing industry.
The plenary session was moderated by Natalia Kovalyova, Doctor of Law, Professor and Head of the School of Digital Law and Bio-Law at the Higher School of Economics. The plenary session was attended by Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ Andrey Vorobyev, who emphasized the important role of identifying domain name registrants through the ESIA government information system in the fight against cyber threats.
“We consider the mandatory identification of registrants via the ESIA as a strategic solution, not a mere formality. This will eliminate anonymity, which is a loophole widely employed by fraudsters today, create a transparent system of liability for domain abuse and, most importantly, make the Runet an even safer and more trusted environment,” he said.
Alexei Yefremov, Professor at Kutafin Moscow State Law University, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation, shared his expert opinion:
“I assume that a qualitative assessment of the regulatory impact on this industry is particularly relevant due to the high risks and the high costs of compliance with mandatory requirements in the field of biometric identification. As a member of the Communications and IT working group of the subcommittee of the Government Commission on Administrative Reform, I must note that we are still a long way from a thorough assessment of both costs and risks, and this is a good field for cooperation between the state, business and civil society to develop a balanced regulation in this area,” the speaker said.
“In addition, it might be practical to examine specific business processes at private ventures and administrative procedures as part of public services to decide whether they actually require identification, or how relevant biometric identification is if they do,” Professor Yefremov added.
Dmitry Sobolev, Director of the Government Relations Department at the Center for Biometric Technologies, highlighted the key challenges in the biometric data regulation:
“Today, we are facing three system-wide issues with biometrics. One is an unregulated “gray area” for private use such as Face ID on smartphones. The second one has to do with excessive requirements for small businesses; simpler solutions for SMEs are needed. And most importantly, although there are relevant accountability regulations, there are no working mechanisms for applying them yet. Without addressing these issues, any innovations in the field of biometrics will remain half-measures.”
The conference provided a platform for an engaging dialogue between students and practitioners. Young researchers presented reports on the ethical and legal challenges arising from the use of biometric data. The best reports at the conference will be recommended for publication in scientific journals.
