Modern technologies found in sensors, software, and readers make it increasingly possible to use fingerprints, facial recognition, retinal or iris scans, voiceprint reading, gait analysis, or keystroke analysis to identify a person.

In response to these technologies, some state legislatures (Arkansas, California, Illinois, New York, Texas, Washington) have enacted biometric information privacy laws that govern the collection and use of this data.

For example, in Illinois, the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) provides a set of rules for companies collecting biometric data—and unlike the biometric data privacy statutes in Texas and Washington, it creates a private cause of action, allowing Illinois residents whose biometric data is improperly collected or used to file a lawsuit for the violation of the statute.

There are essentially five key features of the Illinois law known as BIPA:

• it requires informed consent prior to collection;

• it prohibits any profiting from biometric data;

• it allows only a limited right to disclose the data;

• it sets forth both protection obligations and data retention guidelines for businesses; and

• it creates a private cause of action for those harmed by BIPA violations.

As of the knowledge cutoff date in 2023, Maryland does not have a specific biometric information privacy law akin to Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). While Maryland has laws that protect personal information and data privacy in general, there is no state statute that specifically addresses the collection, use, and storage of biometric data such as fingerprints, facial recognition, and other biometric identifiers. Businesses operating in Maryland are subject to federal laws and regulations that may impact how they handle biometric data, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for medical information, or the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) for information collected from children under 13. However, without a state-specific biometric privacy law, Maryland residents do not have the same level of protections or legal recourse specifically for biometric data as those in states like Illinois, which allows residents to file lawsuits for improper collection or use of their biometric information.