from the almost-too-sensible-to-be-true dept.
BBC:
The European Commission has revealed it is considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public areas for up to five years.
Regulators want time to work out how to prevent the technology being abused.
The technology allows faces captured on CCTV to be checked in real time against watch lists, often compiled by police.
Exceptions to the ban could be made for security projects as well as research and development.
The Commission set out its plans in an 18-page document, suggesting that new rules will be introduced to bolster existing regulation surrounding privacy and data rights.
Don't get rid of your scramble suit just yet.
Related Stories
AWS Facial Recognition Platform Misidentified Over 100 Politicians As Criminals:
Comparitech's Paul Bischoff found that Amazon's facial recognition platform misidentified an alarming number of people, and was racially biased.
Facial recognition technology is still misidentifying people at an alarming rate – even as it's being used by police departments to make arrests. In fact, Paul Bischoff, consumer privacy expert with Comparitech, found that Amazon's face recognition platform incorrectly misidentified more than 100 photos of US and UK lawmakers as criminals.
Rekognition, Amazon's cloud-based facial recognition platform that was first launched in 2016, has been sold and used by a number of United States government agencies, including ICE and Orlando, Florida police, as well as private entities. In comparing photos of a total of 1,959 US and UK lawmakers to subjects in an arrest database, Bischoff found that Rekognition misidentified at average of 32 members of Congress. That's four more than a similar experiment conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – two years ago. Bischoff also found that the platform was racially biased, misidentifying non-white people at a higher rate than white people.
These findings have disturbing real-life implications. Last week, the ACLU shed light on Detroit citizen Robert Julian-Borchak Williams, who was arrested after a facial recognition system falsely matched his photo with security footage of a shoplifter.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @07:36AM (2 children)
It's happening. 24hr surveillance is happening. Doesn't it make you feel... special? Wanted in some way?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @07:42AM
Even belonging to some place? Or just belonging to some? IDK, like your masters?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @04:37PM
I'm just an average man with an average life
I work from nine to five, hey, hell, I pay the price
All I want is to be left alone in my average home
But why do I always feel like I'm in the twilight zone
I always feel like somebody's watching me
And I have no privacy
I always feel like somebody's watching me
Tell me is it just a dream?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @01:39PM (1 child)
Just discovered the world's largest loophole.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @02:55PM
ACs are of course russian bots, so not sure what the loophole is
(Score: 2) by Mojibake Tengu on Saturday January 18 2020, @05:03PM
We are heading into a new kind of society. In a world where no one can hide, where the Masters could hide? Maybe... in castles.
I welcome this.
You will understand me in a couple of years, when facial recognition will be available in your pocket, not just in someone else's cloud.
That's what the Commission is afraid of.
Remember: always try to replicate any known technology for yourself. That's hobby.
Family/clan-only closed bubble software, anyone?
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Saturday January 18 2020, @09:32PM
If Mozilla really cared about privacy they would give away these [dhgate.com].
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A