Help: Glossary

This page will give a short overview over the most important terms used in the Wiki.

A

Audio Recognition

• The ability of a software to identify/understand certain sounds. From a technological perspective, software processes audio relatively similarly to how video is processed: rather than feeding an image, a spectrogram is used as input for the software.

B

Behavioural Data

• Behavioural data is the data collected related to the way in which individuals uniquely behave (facial expressions, body movements, voice, etc.).

Biometric Data

• Biometric data is all data related to the body, which can be used to identify or monitor individuals or groups of individuals and is impossible or very difficult to alter (face, fingerprints, iris, etc.).

Biometric Identification

• The use of biometrical or behavioural data to identify a person.

Biometric Mass Surveillance

• Biometric Mass Surveillance is a form of monitoring, tracking, or processing of personal (biometric and behavioural) data of individuals indiscriminately and in a generalised manner without a prior criminal suspicion (FRA, 2019).
• Additionally, this surveillance occurs at a distance, in a public space and in a continuous or ongoing manner by checking them against data stored in a database.

C

Controlled Images

• Controlled images are images that are captured for the purpose of processing, aimed at optimal positions and lighting conditions. They are for example taken at a police station, or at a photographer’s studio with strict requirements, and are either contained in databases that precede the introduction of a facial recognition system (e.g., driver’s license databases) or are specifically designed to match high criteria of biometric systems (i.e., photographs for biometric passports).

Cooperative Searches

Cooperative searches involves voluntary consent to a search.