Biometrics And Compliance: Navigating Québec's Legal Framework

In the digital age, organizations are integrating biometric technology into their operations with increasing prevalence. While the use of these technologies offer significant benefits to society, they also bring forth major privacy risks. In Québec, there are two laws – the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology (the "Québec IT Act") and the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (the "Québec Privacy Act") – that govern the use of biometric information within the province.

The Québec Privacy Act applies to organizations using biometric information to the extent such information can, directly or indirectly, uniquely identify individuals. Organizations that use biometric systems (i.e., systems that use biometric characteristics or measurements to verify or confirm an individual's identity), or that create biometric databases, are also subject to the requirements found under the Québec IT Act.