In late 2021, the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) launched its AI Bill of Rights initiative to address AI systems that enable and worsen discrimination and privacy risks, particularly in the technologies society has grown to depend on most. CDT submitted comments to the OSTP on the impact of biometric technologies on disabled people, discussing how biometrics incorporated into decision-making and surveillance have disproportionately harmed multiply-marginalized disabled people.

Our comments focus on applications of biometrics in health, public benefits, assistive technology and Internet of Things (IoT), and hiring. We also discuss the use of biometrics for surveillance in schools, the workplace, and the criminal legal system. CDT will continue advocating for increased attention to AI’s privacy risks and for policy changes that center affected communities.