Facial Recognition Software, For Everyone

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: GLIGOR1 () aol com
Date: October 6, 2008 11:22:49 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: For IP: Facial Recognition Software, For Everyone

* Facial Recognition Software, For Everyone - http://www.slaw.ca/2008/10/05/facial-recognition-software-for-everyone/

Few people probably noticed the changes to one of the software  
features in Google Pack last month.  Fewer still have considered the  
privacy implications.


Picasa, a photo management and sharing system, launched a facial  
recognition system.  Users tag their photos, and the software searches  
through pictures to find the same people and place tags on them too.


Google, who owns Picasa, has had these capabilities for a couple years  
now since they acquired Neven Vision.


Theoretically a user could pick off other people's photos from Flickr  
or Facebook, upload them to their Picasa account and tag them, and  
then use it for surveillance purposes for shots in various other  
settings. Compatability features with Flickr allow easier transfers of  
files.


Raeanne Young of the Center for Democracy and Technology asks,


What’s to stop a zealous prosecutor from searching the state’s digital  
database of driver’s license photos for people under 21 whose online  
Flickr photos show them engaged in underage drinking? What’s to stop  
an employer from doing the same with a photo taken by a video camera  
in the lobby of the building where you went for your job interview?


Business competitors could monitor the comings and goings of unknown  
clients at corporate offices, and gain intelligence about corporate  
strategy.  Social advocacy groups or reporters could photograph  
protests, rallies, or public meetings, and scan the crowd instantly  
for persons of interest.


Users with less malicious intent could still create privacy issues if  
they remove the default settings and make their tags public.  Child  
predators could potentially gather enough information with tags to  
pose a threat.


Picasa claims the service is only available in the United States, but  
I'm not sure how they would avoid international users registering  
using a concocted American location.


Law enforcement groups already use these techniques, but usually with  
some oversight and procedural restrictions.  The most famous one here  
would be Passport Canada's Facial Recognition Project.


Aside from user misuse, there are privacy concerns for Google  
themselves.


Dave Jeyes at TechBlorge says,


The Privacy Policy says that you can opt out of the service, but they  
may keep offline backup copies in their archive. Google says that it  
never shares personally identifiable information, but what is more  
personal than your facial recognition profile, even if it isn’t  
attached to your name?


There are some limitations with Picasa's software.  It's not entirely  
accurate, and usually works best when the target is facing the  
camera.  But cell-phone cameras are so proliferative these days that  
acquiring appropriate photos is the least of challenges.


A writer at the Google Subnet Blog says,


The new tool does make it far easier to tag and organize photos (as  
anyone who has spent time labeling dozens of pictures after a recent  
vacation can attest). But it also adds to the huge amount of private  
information Google is privy tonot only does Google know your Web  
surfing (Chrome), e-mail (Gmail), and document-sharing (Apps) habits,  
as well as whether or not you've had time to mow your lawn (Google  
Earth), but now they know you and your friends' faces and names. It's  
pretty cool and pretty scary.







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