An HS Daily Wire Q&A with IBG's co-founder Raj Nanavati

for all state drivers’ licenses. Even the mere question of how the states would share information obtained in this way grew into a hotly contested, sometimes contentious issue.

Daily Wire: In your view, is concern for privacy legitimate, in the main? Or is it an unconsidered response to something that’s not well understood?

Nanavati: I would say that, for the most part, such concerns are legitimate. Technologists may lean a little too far in one direction at times and civil libertarians be a little too far the other way at times. What we at IBG try to do is balance those issues. At the very least we provide accurate information. One of the biggest problems is that people aren’t sure exactly what the technology is capable of. They’re afraid they’re going to be tracked by a satellite, or their fingerprints are going to be picked off from 100 feet away, that kind of thing. It doesn’t work that way - except in the movies.

So a lot of people have privacy concerns about biometrics. But we feel that having an educated dialogue and discussion about it is important. And we don’t take sides.

Daily Wire: You mentioned civil libertarians. What sort of relations do you maintain with privacy-advocacy groups?

Nanavati: We have a very good relationship with the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] and have also recently contributed to the development of biometrics privacy policy in the EU. We have privacy contacts throughout North America and Europe who we work with on an almost monthly basis. And we have very good relations with the various technology firms, government agencies, and other stakeholders. They know we put accurate information out there, and we provide guidance on legislative and privacy issues, but it stops there. In the end, whether or not a company wants to roll out a system or not, that’s their decision. We’ve worked on projects where, in the end, a privacy official said no, we can’t roll out the system. That’s fine — our only goal is to provide accurate, objective advice that takes all stakeholders into consideration. Either way, the ultimate deployment decision rests with the client.

Daily Wire: How much time does IBG devote to promoting the use of biometrics?

Nanavati: Very little. If we have a client who’s considering biometrics, we can provide guidance as to how to look at it. For a client who’s already decided on biometrics, we can roll it