Face recognition: new tech or new invade to privacy?

Similar to other biometrics solutions, face recognition measures and matches the selected characters by applying artificial intelligence algorithm. Many users of facial recognition think that it is a “positive and potentially even profound new tech” since they enjoyed the convenient and efficient identification process. However, other than as a method of access control, facial recognition is also widely used in law enforcement.

Privacy fears grow as governmental facial recognition tech uses do. In the US, there are about 60,000,000 surveillance cameras (combined with face recognition tech) which means there is a high possibility that your face information is stored somewhere in a police database even if you have never been arrested in the lifetime (Engelbart, 2018). Imagine a situation that the police officers pulled you in the highway only because you look similar to an escaped prisoner. Although it might be beneficial for public security, it is still a true privacy invade when one’s facial characters are used without noticing. We have to admit that currently, there are only a few regulations regarding law enforcement’s use of facial recognition. But there are a few local governments made a forward step recently, for example, Seattle, Washington has restricted police from using facial recognition to compare the real-time video to jail mugshots database, which is a good news.

In short, facial recognition technology is being rushed into real-world use before fully regulated. Only if we improve the supporting laws can we maximize the benefits.

Engelbart, D., (February 11, 2018). Caught on Camera: American on an estimated 70 security cameras each day, Retrieved October 26, 2018, from https://kdvr.com/2018/02/11/caught-on-camera-americans-are-captured-an-estimated-70-security-cameras-each-day/

Figure 1. Retrieved October 26, 2018, from https://mashable.com/2018/02/15/nvidia-developing-facial-recognition-cameras/#RRAuhXPxgiqn