photos to database will give
users better control over
personal information
Facebook is considering
incorporating most of its 1
billion-plus members' profile
photos into its growing facial
recognition database, expanding
the scope of the social network's
controversial technology.
The possible move, which
Facebook revealed in an update
to its data use policy on
Thursday, is intended to
improve the performance of its
"tag suggest" feature. The
feature uses facial recognition
technology to speed up the
process of labelling or "tagging"
friends and acquaintances who
appear in photos posted on the
network.
The technology currently
automatically identifies faces in
newly uploaded photos by
comparing them only to
previous snapshots in which
users were tagged. Facebook
users can choose to remove tags
identifying them in photos
posted by others on the site.
The changes would come at a
time when Facebook and other
internet companies' privacy
practices are under scrutiny,
following the revelations of a US
government electronic
surveillance program.
Facebook, Google and other
companies have insisted that
they have never participated in
any program giving the
government direct access to
their computer servers and that
they only provide information in
response to specific requests,
after careful review and as
required by law.
Facebook chief privacy officer
Erin Egan said that adding
members' public profile photos
would give users better control
over their personal information,
by making it easier to identify
posted photos in which they
appear.
"Our goal is to facilitate tagging
so that people know when there
are photos of them on our
service," Egan said.
She stressed that Facebook users
uncomfortable with facial
recognition technology will still
be able to opt out of the tag
suggest feature altogether, in
which case the person's public
profile photo would not be
included in the facial recognition
database.
Facial recognition technology
has been a sensitive issue for
technology companies, raising
concerns among some privacy
advocates and government
officials. Tag suggest, which the
company introduced in 2011, is
not available in Europe due to
concerns raised by regulators.
Google's social network, Google
+, also employs similar
technology, but requires user
consent. And it has banned
third-party software makers
from using facial recognition
technology in apps designed for
its Glass wearable computer.
Egan said Facebook was not
currently using facial recognition
technology for any other
features, but that could change.
"Can I say that we will never use
facial recognition technology for
any other purposes? Absolutely
not," Egan said. But, she noted,
"if we decided to use it in
different ways we will continue
to provide people transparency
about that and we will continue
to provide control".
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