On Location And Protection Of Personal Biometric Information In Civil Law

In recent years,with the development of science and technology,biometric technology has made great progress,biometric information is not only the carrier of personal biological data,but also with obvious property and resource attributes.By collecting and using citizens’ personal biometric information,information processors improve economic benefits,optimize products and services,and make our life more convenient.However,when biometric information is developed and used on a large scale,there is a great risk of information disclosure and abuse,which is in urgent need of regulation by law.Specifically,there are the following problems:In the legislative aspect : first of all,there is no law in China to clarify the concept of biometric information.The Civil Code only includes biometric information in personal information for declarative protection,without emphasizing its particularity.Secondly,the legislative positioning of personal biometric information in civil law is not clear,and it is uncertain whether it belongs to general personal information or private information,which further leads to the uncertainty of consent rules for personal biometric information.In the judicial aspect,firstly,the infringement of personal biometric information is mainly manifested as procedural violation,so it is difficult to identify the material damage.Secondly,it is difficult for information subjects to safeguard their rights,which is manifested as weak awareness,low enthusiasm,high cost and small benefit.Even the information subjects take actions to safeguard rights,they cannot effectively deter the infringer and prevent the infringement again.In terms of the above issues,this paper puts forward some exploratory suggestions based on the overseas beneficial legislative experience and China’s legislative practice.Specifically,first,define the personal biometric information in the Civil Code,and then unify the legal position of biometric information,adopt the protection provisions of sensitive personal information in the Personal Information Protection Law.Secondly,the risk damage should be recognized as the result of the damage.I also analyze the legitimacy of the suggestion and the factors to consider when it is applied.Thirdly,this paper advocates the application of punitive compensation system for such infringement,and fully demonstrates its necessity and feasibility,and finally provides the model selection and consideration factors of punitive compensation system.