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Many people are worried that the rise of biometrics is infringing on their privacy, Office of the Privacy Commissioner says.
The commissioner is considering 250 submissions from the public it received on its draft code of biometrics practice.
This would impose more notification and transparency obligations, and restrict some uses of biometrics.
Biometric checks including facial recognition are widely used by Customs, police, Ministry of Social Development and Internal Affairs among other public agencies. Other biometrics include fingerprints and irises.
Submitters voiced concern about surveillance, government use of biometrics, and companies using it at the expense of the public, the commissioner said.
Many backed restricting the use of web scraping to collect people's biometrics.
"Individuals didn't anticipate the use of this intrusive tool," a summary of submissions said.
The draft code proposes restricting biometrics being used to collection information about people's health, their wellbeing or if they are being attentive, or demographic markers like gender and ethnicity.
"A few submitters argued against restricting any biometrics uses because it may stifle innovation or prevent helpful cases.
"Other submitters strongly advocated for the restrictions, noting intrusive uses like surveillance in the workplace."
The draft proposes seven extra transparency rules and eight safeguards - such as testing the biometric system and letting people know they are on a biometric watchlist - though some submitters want more of these made mandatory.
