Recently, the IRS issued an update on its partnership with ID.me. Id.me, which has been providing third-party authentication services to dozens of government agencies, received a request from the Internal Revenue Service to stop all facial recognition support for those agencies. The move is aimed at protecting users’ privacy.
Facial recognition system is a kind of use of analysis and comparison technology, the facial features of the construction of data, used for comparison to carrying out identity verification, recognition, and other purposes.
The main application areas include.
Face detection.
Determine whether the image contains a face inside. This type of detection generally does not raise privacy concerns because it does not collect or store face-related information. The main purpose is to detect faces in videos or pictures and mask recognizable faces through subsequent processing. Face tracking is often applied to cameras, or motion cameras. Recognize faces and keep them centered on the screen at all times. The same technology can be used to create interesting filters on social networks. This technology is not too risky, so it is widely used in our life.
Facial recognition.
The technology is used to identify a person’s face and convert its features into character segments that can be compared with the contents of a database to confirm the person’s identity and additional information. The technology involves storing facial information in a database in advance, indexing it and enriching it with other content.
As a relatively new biometric technology, facial recognition has many advantages. It doesn’t require people to actually touch the device, which is particularly advantageous during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduce the frequency of direct contact in the workplace and life scenarios, reducing the risk of transmission of the virus. Similarly, when facial recognition technology is used as the login certificate of the device, the more logical principle is well accepted by people. Apple’s Face ID, for example, requires the user to face the camera to unlock the device, which requires no additional process. Fingerprint recognition requires the user to go through the extra action of placing a finger on the recognizer.
Despite its easy-to-use features, the development and application of facial recognition technology is slow due to privacy issues. Id.me uses facial recognition technology as login credentials for many government tax systems, which means it stores many users’ all-important “keys.” A third-party system cannot guarantee the security of the use and storage of the information, and the facial information is at risk of disclosure and abuse. The disclosure of facial information poses a bigger security risk than fingerprints, which can only be compared through databases, and facial information is one of the things we face with other people every day of our lives. “Face Swap,” a popular app in recent years, has made it almost impossible for the human eye to tell if a video has been face-swapped. This leads to a lot of legal problems, not only the violation of privacy but also the right of portrait and legal evidence.
So while facial recognition is a promising technology, there’s still a lot of social and legal work to be done to keep up with the science and technology. As it stands, eliminating facial recognition from government services is only the first step, and it should not be used for any unnecessary database comparisons until security and privacy concerns can be addressed. Facial recognition for public safety is available, but it still needs to strike an acceptable balance between ensuring the necessary security order and the illegal monitoring of privacy.
Reference,
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/02/victory-irs-wont-require-facial-recognition-idme
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/10/face-recognition-technology-commonly-used-terms
https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/top-6-deepfake-apps-are-they-safe/
Face Detection vs. Face Recognition: What Decision Makers Need to Know
https://rapidapi.com/blog/top-facial-recognition-apis/
I never realized how much harm facial biometrics could cause and how people can misuse it, but this might just be me not thinking outside the box. Nice post.
Facial recognition technology has no doubt been one, if not the most intriguing technological development in recent years. However, as much as it has been viewed as innovative, it has been plagued by a constant stream of controversy, concern, and global fear. A lack of privacy, is at the cornerstone of the controversies that have surrounded facial recognition technology. Furthermore, the relationship between facial recognition technology and race has proven to be complex. Although it has the ability to track where you go and what you do, it is known to be flawed and often inaccurate. For example, it has been known to misidentify non-white faces, and thus, disproportionately impacts communities of colour. I don’t feel particularly comfortable accepting a technology, no matter how innovative it might be, if minorities such as myself are negatively impacted. Furthermore, I value my privacy, and am concerned over the lack of privacy associated with such technology.
It’s quite disappointing that advanced technology can be misused and therefore suffers in its development. I like to think about all the cool things that can be done with advancements in technology that provide convenience, and I don’t think about the harm that can be done with it very often. This article seems to show how harmful technology can be when it’s used for a less than ideal purpose. There is certainly a balance to find, and with the rise of so many new technologies that no one would have thought about 100 years ago, I think the best way to handle this type of issue would be to have greater enforcement of privacy protection so that the technology can improve independently of the ability of people in power to misuse its advancements. Thanks for the thought provoking post!
Great post! I had heard of the privacy concerns before, but actually hadn’t heard much about the security concerns before this. Another concern I would mention is the reports of racial bias in facial recognition technology. Most of this work has been done in the context of the criminal justice system, but I would be interested to see the potential effects on private enterprise as well.
Some sources:
https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2020/racial-discrimination-in-face-recognition-technology/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03186-4
https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/amazons-face-recognition-falsely-matched-28
https://www.media.mit.edu/articles/facial-recognition-is-accurate-if-you-re-a-white-guy/
It’s very frustrating that innovation can be abused and subsequently experiences in its turn of events. I like to see every one of the cool things that should be possible with progressions in innovation that give accommodation, and I don’t contemplate the disadvantages that should be possible with it all the time. This article appears to show how hurtful innovation can be the point at which it’s utilized for a not great reason. There is a possibility to find many new innovations that nobody would have discovered 100 years prior, I figure the most effective way to deal with this sort of issue is have more noteworthy authorization of security insurance so the innovation can improve freely of the capacity of individuals in ability to abuse its headways. Nice Post1
I totally agree! In fact there should be a dedicated body governing the standards and protocols necessary to be followed while implementing such AI based non-physical security related mechanisms. The problem here is things can quickly get out of hand in a very short period, all that is required is a way to access the system / DB remotely for hackers to introduce malware. I generally try to keep my cameras of phones and computers covered just to be cautious. You very well pointed out the working of such facial recognition systems as well which gives a fair idea that it cannot always be efficient and correct, suggesting it’s not completely ready to have a full blown implementation. Here’s an interesting read,
https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/monthly-issues/security-technology/archive/2021/december/facial-recognition-in-the-us-privacy-concerns-and-legal-developments/
Facial recognition can be very useful in law enforcement cases, but it can easily be used to intrude one’s privacy and security. This is a good example of how technology can be a double-edged sword.
Thanks for sharing the post! Facial recognition has indeed developed quite well these years. I remember to read a post about facial recognition payment in China and how people’s social credit score be counted based on facial recognition camera in public. Personally it is a double-sided knife. It is very convenient to use facial recognition compared to other method such as fingerprint or card tapping. However, it also means we are completely visible.