Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Facial recognition: EU considers ban of up to
five years
Facial recognition is a technology that
identifies or verifies a person’s visual image, either from a photo or video
frame, by comparing selected facial features with faces within a database. Since
there are factors such as aging, plastic surgery, cosmetics, or pose of the subject that could mislead the identification, the accuracy of the facial
recognition systems are not as high as the ones of iris or fingerprint
recognition. However, facial recognition systems are used in public places like
airports and train stations as well as in offices and laboratories mainly for
security purposes. In fact, they are widely used in China both for security and
commercial purposes. For example, hundreds of millions of CCTV cameras are
installed in public places to monitor people. Also, some stores are using facial
recognition systems to verify pre-registered shoppers so that they can check
out the store without stopping while cameras in subway stations identify the pre-registered
passengers and allow them to go through the gate instead of a token or ticket. If
used properly, facial recognition systems offer security to society and
convenience to businesses and customers.
However, data privacy is the main concern
when it comes to storing biometrics data in companies and public offices. It may
infringe the privacy and could be used maliciously if the data is accessed by
someone with malicious intentions. Because of these fears, the European
Commission is considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public
areas for some years. By the time the EU countries allow the use of facial
recognition systems, Chinese authorities and enterprises will be using the next,
or next to the next generation of advanced facial recognition systems and
applications.
Enjoy reading the article and think about the pros and cons of the use of facial recognition technologies.
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