Obama Administration To Reconsider Facial Recognition Technology

The Obama administration said Tuesday they plan to review the privacy implications of facial recognition technology ahead of reported plans to implement the system nationwide in the next two years.

A Commerce Department spokesman said they recognize the concerns of privacy advocates and tech groups and will be working with them to specifically identify the problems with the technology.

“Facial recognition technology has the potential to improve services for consumers, support innovation by businesses, and affect identification and authentication online and offline,” Larry Strickling, the administrator of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration told The Hill. “However, the technology poses distinct consumer privacy challenges … and the importance of securing faceprints and ensuring consumers’ appropriate control over their data is clear.”

Concerns about the technology first arose when Facebook began cataloging user profile pictures into a system that allowed them to auto-tag photos of people. Several Democratic senators applauded the Commerce Department decision to further investigate the situation.

“Clear policies that support consumer privacy are crucial as facial recognition technology is developed and deployed,” Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts said.

FBI To Launch Nationwide Facial Recognition System

The FBI has announced they will be launching a system in 2014 that will allow law enforcement to use facial recognition to track and follow citizens.

The computer-based system will automatically identify a person based on a digital image or video source that is matched to a massive database.

The process had been a work of fiction on TV shows like CSI and other police procedurals but now such a system will be used in real life. The facial recognition program is part of a $1 billion Next Generation Identification System being created by the FBI.

The system will also include iris scans, DNA analysis and voice identification.

The FBI says the new system will allow them to reduce terrorist and criminal activity by expanding criminal history information services.