A Guide to Litigating Identity Systems 66. As discussed in an earlier chapter, the biometric technology underlying identity systems is fallible and not always accurate, leading to authentication failures. a) The Jamaican Supreme Court states that because the decision that arises from the biometric matching process is the “outcome of a series of processes that have at their base a probability factor,”279 it can result in both false positives and false negatives.280 b) The Jamaican Supreme Court states that the differences in sensitivity of the devices executing the initial data collection and subsequent comparison affect the reliability of biometric identity systems and increase the risk of false positives and false negatives.281 c) The dissent of the Indian Supreme Court cites an official document of the Government of India which recorded authentication failures in several states of the country: “While Aadhaar coverage speed has been exemplary, with over a billion Aadhaar cards being distributed, some states report authentication failures: estimates include 49 percent failure rates for Jharkhand, 6 percent for Gujarat, 5 percent for Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh and 37 percent for Rajasthan.”282 279 Julian J. Robinson, ¶ 51. 280 Julian J. Robinson, ¶ 51. 281 Julian J. Robinson, ¶ 53. 282 Government of India, Economic Survey 2016–17, https://www.thehinducentre.com/multimedia/archive/03193/Economic_Survey_20_3193543a.pdf at 194. 65

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