JUST A FORM OF digital ID. Texas is getting a mobile driver’s license (mDL), as the tech continues to pick up steam across the U.S. and road signs point to large-scale mDL adoption ahead. The lone star state’s HB 3426 says the department of public safety “shall issue a digital version of a driver’s license, a commercial driver’s license, and a personal identification certificate.” Furthermore, “the department may adopt rules necessary to administer this.” https://www.biometricupdate.com/202503/texas-is-latest-u-s-state-to-launch-mobile-drivers-license-as-mdl-momentum-builds

Oklahoma State University students to compete in groundbreaking Big 12 esports tournament Students from Oklahoma State University will compete in the first officially sanctioned Big 12 Conference esports tournament. Teams from six other conference institutions will join them for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (SSBU) tournament, which will take place virtually March 1, and serve as the conference qualifier for the prestigious Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup (CECC), taking place in May. Visit :- https://vexrobotics.ai/oklahoma-state-university-students-to-compete-in-groundbreaking-big-12-esports-tournament/

Michigan police adopted a new governance policy for facial recognition use last year following a pair of wrongful arrests of Black people in Detroit. https://www.biometricupdate.com/202502/detroit-police-sued-over-alleged-facial-recognition-use-in-another-wrongful-arrest

Biometric technology in automobiles is becoming steadily more common as research and development have opened new possibilities. In 2018, Hyundai Motor Company became the first automaker to feature a biometric scanner through the Santa Fe model. The SUV allowed drivers to use their fingerprints to open the vehicle and start the ignition. Since then, Hyundai and Genesis have made biometrics integral to their production. https://www.biometricupdate.com/202502/biometrics-rolling-towards-relevance-for-automakers-and-drivers

Clearview AI is pivoting away from Co-founder and CEO Hoan Ton-That and towards U.S. federal government contracts, expecting a more sympathetic reception to its facial recognition searches of images scraped from social media and other internet sites from an administration rapidly dismantling American’s privacy protections. Ton-That has resigned from the company, Forbes reports. Hal Lambert, a board member and early investor, and Co-founder Richard Schwartz became co-CEOs in December, with Ton-That taking the role of Clearview president. While he is leaving that role, Ton-That remains on Clearview’s board. https://www.biometricupdate.com/202502/clearview-ai-targets-us-federal-govt-facial-recognition-contracts-with-new-co-ceos

Among those “progressive” solutions, CUPE wants the government to seize control of any Canadian business owner who wants to leave Canada for lower taxes and less regulatory burden that the new U.S. administration promises. https://tnc.news/2025/02/07/cupe-feds-nationalize-companies-leave-for-us/

Mastercard intends to do away with the 16-digit number on their credit and debit cards and replace them with on-device biometrics and tokenization as part of a plan to quash identity theft and fraud. In Australia the initial rollout of these new numberless cards will be via a partnership with AMP Bank, but other banks are expected to follow over the next 12 months. Mastercard recently committed to phasing out manual card entry and static passwords by 2030 in favor of tokenization and biometrics, and to replace traditional authentication methods with on-device biometrics for users to authenticate purchases without exposing personal data online. https://www.biometricupdate.com/202502/biometrics-tokenization-to-replace-credit-card-numbers-by-2030

Myself posted this before: CBSA’s ReportIn app is similar to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) also relatively new CBP One app, in that both apps aim to enhance efficiency in immigration processes and overall border security. However, both apps also present strikingly similar privacy and civil rights concerns. Despite the differences in the two apps’ specific functionalities, the core concerns about the apps revolve around biometric, biographic and location data collection, storage, security, and their broader implications for individual freedoms and equity. https://www.biometricupdate.com/202412/reportin-and-cbp-one-a-tale-of-two-biometric-border-apps

In the U.S. and Canada, the drive to expand data collection on border checks is being driven by an increasingly rocky relationship between the two neighbors. Legal experts are criticizing a new agreement that expands the collection of travelers’ biographical and biometric data. The agreement is an update to the 2012 Beyond the Border Action Plan, which enabled automatic sharing of non-residents’ data during visa applications. In October, the Canadian government also added permanent residents to the list, allowing the sharing of information such as date of birth, immigration status and facial images. The new rule came into effect this month and https://www.biometricupdate.com/202501/border-projects-see-criticism-on-data-sharing-transparency

Recently, Mexico introduced its AI Bill marking another significant step in global regulatory efforts. This legislation closely mirrors the EU AI Act with requirements for risk management, impact assessments, consumer notifications, and protections against algorithmic discrimination. It highlights the urgent need for organizations to adapt and align with these emerging standards. https://www.biometricupdate.com/202501/opinion-mexicos-ai-bill-highlights-global-trends-in-compliance-and-fair-use