Facial Recognition Technology Facing Major Backlash – Here's All You Need To Know!

“Have we met before?”

“I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere!”

“You look so familiar!”

Surely, you must have used some of these phrases at some point in your life when you came across someone who looked familiar but you can’t really place them. In recent years, even machines have started using similar lines. Confused? We’re talking about Facial Recognition Technology!

The aim of using this technology is to be absolutely certain in identifying people. However, concerns have crept up in the deployment of facial recognition systems, most recently outlined by an event in the state of New York.

So, what happened? Let’s explore:
 

What Did The State Of New York Do?

 

• New York state banned the use of facial recognition technology in schools.

• At the same time, the order passed left the decision to use digital fingerprinting and other biometric technology to local districts.

• Previously, the state has put a hold on the use of the technology when parents had challenged its adoption in court in an upstate district.

• As per reports, the Lockport Central School District, who spent $1.4 million to install and get the system running in January 2020, as required by state education conditions set at the time, stopped using it later that year itself.

• The idea at the time was to enable quick responses by security officers by detecting the identity of disgruntled employees or those with weapons.

   

• The move, led by Betty Rosa, Commissioner of Education and President of the University of the State of New York, took the decision following a study that showed the potential benefits were less than the risks it posed to student privacy and civil rights.

 

What Concerns Do Others Have With Facial Recognition?

 

• While the facial recognition market is set to exceed $16.5 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 16.13% from 2023 to 2030, as per a study, it has faced criticism and concerns.

• Business travelers of Ryanair in the UK, which has reportedly seen ongoing "friction" and "frustrations" while booking flight tickets, as the verification process requires facial recognition.

• This includes members of the Institute of Travel Management (ITM), who are mostly corporate travel managers and Kerry Douglas, ITM's Head of Program, who said, "The verification process brings challenges in traveler experience and potentially data security dependent on where the traveler's verification data then is stored."

• In fact, even China, a country that was big on the technology, recently conveyed plans to restrict the use of facial recognition technology for businesses. As per a report, the Cyberspace Administration of China even proposed, “Airports, hotels, stations, banks, stadiums, exhibition halls and other business establishments should not use facial recognition to verify personal identity, unless required by law.”

• Another issue that is often highlighted is that there is a “potentially higher rate of false positives for people of color, non-binary and transgender people, women, the elderly, and children.”

• Reportedy, Clearview AI, the American facial recognition company, possesses a database of billions of photos scraped from the internet, which is then sold to governments and police departments leading to invasion of privacy.

What do you think of the move and the use of facial recognition technology in schools, public places and businesses? Let us know in the comments below!