DefinitionIn forcev1.0.0

Biometric data

The AI Act uses its own, broader wording than the GDPR, and that difference decides whether you land in Annex III or Article 5.

The official source remains authoritative. This is general information about obligations and not legal advice. See this object on the map

Address and citation

This object has an address of its own that is never renamed or reused. Store the identifier in your own file, not the title or the link.

Identifier: praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-biometrische-gegevens
Payload hash (sha256): de8709be1f53c0c58a6f7fb9f6ac1724dff49b2f4f2cde17fd9075fd50c95ce0

Citation line

Praxikon, "Biometric data", praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-biometrische-gegevens@1.0.0, dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0), effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-14T00:00:00.000Z, sha256 de8709be1f53c0c58a6f7fb9f6ac1724dff49b2f4f2cde17fd9075fd50c95ce0

Version: 1.0.0
Legal time (effective_at): 8 August 2026
Knowledge time (known_at): 8 August 2026
Closed on: Not closed
Application date: 2 February 2025
Topics: definitions

Review status: Placed against the official source (8 August 2026). Next check due by 4 February 2027. The check date is the knowledge date of this version; no later recheck has been recorded.

What this object links to

Every relation appears below as a path: from the source with its locator, through the conditions and exceptions of the object carrying the relation, to the consequence. A locator belongs to a statement in the data and not to a relation, so the source is the source anchor of the carrying object.

What this object is about

2 of 2 shown

The object is about this role. Undifferentiated: it does not follow that the duty rests on this role.

Source
Official fact on this object, with its locator.
- EU Artificial Intelligence Act 2024/1689
  Locator: Article 3(34)
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689
  Open official source
Via
No condition or exception recorded on this object.
Consequence
- ActorDeployer
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:deployer
- ActorProvider of an AI system
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:provider

What this object states

Official fact

Attributable to a named primary source, with a locator. Where they differ, the official source prevails.

Article 3(34) defines biometric data as personal data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of a natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data.
- Locator: Article 3(34)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

Our interpretation

Our own reading. It can change without the law changing, and it is not the position of a supervisory authority.

Almost everyone reads the GDPR definition into this one. That goes wrong on a point that is legally decisive: Article 4(14) GDPR requires that the processing allows or confirms unique identification, and that requirement does not appear in point 34 of the AI Act. Data on behavioural characteristics such as keystroke rhythm, gait or voice features can therefore be biometric data under the AI Act even where identification is not the aim. Anyone basing their AI inventory on the GDPR qualification risks missing systems falling under Article 5 or Annex III. For the GDPR side of the same processing, that Regulation continues to apply in full.
- Locator: Article 3(34)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

Recommended step

A practical step we consider appropriate. Not an obligation following from the Regulation.

Assess biometrics in your AI register separately from the GDPR assessment and record both outcomes side by side. Include systems that process behavioural characteristics without an identification purpose, such as fraud detection on typing behaviour or voice analysis in the customer contact chain.
- Locator: Article 3(34)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:reg-eu-2024-1689Open official source

When this applies

No condition recorded on this object.

When this does not apply

No exception recorded on this object.

Referring to this object

Citation block

Copy this reference into your advice, article or file. The identifier, the version and the hash keep the statement findable later, even once the dataset has moved on.

Reference

Praxikon, "Biometric data",
praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-biometrische-gegevens@1.0.0,
dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0),
effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z,
sha256 de8709be1f53c0c58a6f7fb9f6ac1724dff49b2f4f2cde17fd9075fd50c95ce0,
https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-biometrische-gegevens
(https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Adefinition%3Adefinitie-biometrische-gegevens&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en, accessed 2026-08-23)

Short form

praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-biometrische-gegevens@1.0.0 (sha256 de8709be)

BibTeX

@misc{praxikon-eu-ai-act-definition-definitie-biometrische-gegevens-1-0-0,
  author       = {{Praxikon}},
  title        = {Biometric data},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.0.0},
  number       = {praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-biometrische-gegevens},
  howpublished = {AI Act Change \& Evidence Graph, dataset 2.1.0, schema 1.4.0},
  note         = {effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 de8709be1f53c0c58a6f7fb9f6ac1724dff49b2f4f2cde17fd9075fd50c95ce0},
  url          = {https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-biometrische-gegevens},
  urldate      = {2026-08-23},
  language     = {en}
}

CSL JSON

[
  {
    "id": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-biometrische-gegevens@1.0.0",
    "type": "dataset",
    "title": "Biometric data",
    "container-title": "AI Act Change & Evidence Graph",
    "publisher": "Praxikon",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "number": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:definition:definitie-biometrische-gegevens",
    "URL": "https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/definition/definitie-biometrische-gegevens",
    "language": "en",
    "issued": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          8
        ]
      ]
    },
    "accessed": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          23
        ]
      ]
    },
    "note": "dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0; schema 1.4.0; effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 de8709be1f53c0c58a6f7fb9f6ac1724dff49b2f4f2cde17fd9075fd50c95ce0; retrieved_from https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Adefinition%3Adefinitie-biometrische-gegevens&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en; licence https://www.praxikon.com/nl/legal/terms"
  }
]

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