Facial recognition is here to stay. And we should all probably accept it

guest · Oct 27, 2020

Dubai introduces facial recognition on public transport
October 25, 2020
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-dubai-facial-recognition.html

Dubai is introducing a facial recognition system on public transport to beef up security, officials said Sunday, as the emirate prepares to host the global Expo exhibition.

"This technology has proven its effectiveness to identify suspicious and wanted people," said Obaid al-Hathboor, director of Dubai's Transport Security Department.
The emirate already operates a biometric system using facial recognition at its international airport.

But while the technology to identify individuals has simplified lives, such as being used for unlocking phones, it has also raised concerns over privacy.
Berlin-based advocacy group AlgorithmWatch says that at least 10 European police forces use facial recognition technology—a trend that privacy and rights groups are concerned about.
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guest · Oct 27, 2020

T-Factory Is a Store Without Staff Selling Smartphones Using Facial Recognition
October 27, 2020
https://uk.pcmag.com/shopping/12961...-selling-smartphones-using-facial-recognition

[...] in South Korea a new store is opening that goes a step further and has no staff at all and never closes.

As 9To5Mac reports, the new store is called T Factory and it has been created by telecomms company SK Telecom (SKT) as a way of sharing, "SKT’s future ICT vision and introduce the company’s latest achievements in technologies and services, as well as its partnerships." The stand out feature of the store right now is the fact it's open 24 hours a day, but doesn't have any staff.

Instead, SKT is relying on facial recognition to know who is in the store. Customers register before visiting and can then self check-in on arrival using their face. Once inside, they can purchase a range of devices from companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung [...]
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guest · Oct 29, 2020

Mall real estate company collected 5 million images of shoppers, say privacy watchdogs
'Shoppers had no reason to expect their image was being collected,' says federal privacy commissioner
October 29, 2020
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cadillac-fairview-5-million-images-1.5781735

The real estate company behind some of Canada's most popular shopping centres embedded cameras inside its digital information kiosks at 12 shopping malls across Canada to collect millions of images — and used facial recognition technology without customers' knowledge or consent — according to a new investigation by the federal, Alberta and B.C. privacy commissioners.

"Shoppers had no reason to expect their image was being collected by an inconspicuous camera, or that it would be used, with facial recognition technology, for analysis," said federal Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien in a statement.
According to the report, the technology Cadillac Fairview used — known as "anonymous video analytics" or AVA— took temporary digital images of the faces of individuals within the field of view of the camera in the directory.
It then used facial recognition software to convert those images into biometric numerical representations of individual faces about five million images in total.
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Cadillac Fairview said it used AVA technology to assess foot traffic and track shoppers' ages and genders — but not to identify individuals. The company also argued shoppers were made aware of the activity through decals it had placed on shopping mall entry doors that referred to Cadillac Fairview's privacy policy.
But the commissioners said that wasn't good enough and did not meet the standard for meaningful consent.
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guest · Nov 2, 2020

Police used facial recognition to identify a Lafayette Square protester
The system law enforcement used hadn't been disclosed before
November 2, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/lafayette-square-protest-facial-recognition-221036657.html

In the aftermath of the Lafayette Square protests in June, police in Washington DC used facial recognition technology to identify a protestor who had allegedly punched an officer in the face. They found the man after feeding an image of him they found on Twitter through a previously undisclosed database called the National Capital Region Facial Recognition Investigative Leads System (NCRFRILS).

This is the first time we’re learning of this database, despite the fact it’s been used in other cases related to human trafficking and bank robberies. According to The Washington Post, 14 local and federal agencies have used the system more than 12,000 times since 2019. It’s part of a pilot program the Metropolitan Washington Council of Goverments has been operating since 2017.

The council says NCRFRILS has never been used to collect information on peaceful protestors.
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This isn’t the first example of police in the US using facial recognition technology to identify a protestor. In August, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) leveraged a facial recognition database to investigate Derrick Ingram, a Black Lives Matter activist who had allegedly used a bullhorn to shout into an officer’s ear.
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guest · Nov 4, 2020

Portland, Maine votes in favor of facial recognition ban
It's the latest city in the US to ban the use of facial recognition by officials
November 4, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/portland-maine-facial-recognition-ban-102520333.html

Portland, Maine is the latest in the growing list of cities in the US to ban facial recognition technologies.

According to Bangor Daily News, people voted in favor of of passing a new measure that strengthens Portland’s existing ban on the use of facial recognition tech by law enforcement agencies and public officials. City councilors originally agreed on a ban back in August with the understanding that the voter referendum would replace their ordinance if it passes.

Now that it has passed, it can’t be touched for at least five years.
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The new measure Portland, Maine has passed will allow citizens to sue the city for illegal surveillance and will make them eligible to receive $100 per violation or $1,000, whichever is higher. It will also require the city to suppress illegally obtained evidence. Plus, violating the ordinance will now be grounds for a city official’s suspension or termination.
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guest · Nov 11, 2020

Moscow’s facial recognition system can be hijacked for just $200, report shows
The dangers of building a real-time surveillance system for local police
November 11, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/11/21561018/moscows-facial-recognition-system-crime-bribe-stalking

A digital rights activist in Moscow was able to purchase access to the city’s extensive facial recognition system for just 16,000 rubles (approximately $200), as reported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. After seeing ads for the service on Telegram, Anna Kuznetsova transferred the money along with a picture of herself to a seller.

Two days later, she received an extensive report of her movements over the previous month, apparently pulled directly from the police system.

As Kuznetsova sees it, the system poses a clear danger to the public as long as it’s available. “Any crazy guy can stalk you using this; criminals can check when and where you go and steal from your apartment or hurt you,” she told Reuters. “Anything can happen.”
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guest · Nov 16, 2020

mood said: ↑

Air Force hires Trueface for facial recognition on bases
Trueface will provide Air Force bases with systems that can identify faces, license plates and guns
November 19, 2019
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/air-force-hires-trueface-for-facial-recognition-on-bases/
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Air Force bases look to facial recognition to secure entry
November 16, 2020
https://www.fedscoop.com/facial-recognition-air-force-bases/

Two Air Force installations recently inked deals to use facial recognition technology to verify the identities of those coming on base — a move that can increase the physical distance during security checks as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The Air Force awarded TrueFace phase two Small Business Innovation Research contracts to install its technology at Eglin Air Force Base and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The company calls its system “frictionless access control,” where security personnel do not need to be present for a check, adding that it can verify a face in one to two seconds.
CEO Shaun Moore told FedScoop TrueFace’s business has exploded since the pandemic began.

“A year ago, facial recognition was a ‘nice to have’ for these bases,” Moore said. Now with the pandemic and many base operations going on with personnel still needing to physically show up, it has become more necessary, he said.
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TrueFace says it uses a diverse database called “Fairface,” which has roughly equal sample sizes of races and genders to try and reduce the bias of its algorithms. With a more balanced database, the company says its technology develops less implicit bias and can more easily recognize non-white and non-male faces.

“We have been focused in on collecting diverse faces from all around the world,” Moore said.
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guest · Nov 18, 2020

LAPD bars use of third-party facial recognition systems, launches review after BuzzFeed inquiry
November 17, 2020
https://www.latimes.com/california/...n-use-as-buzzfeed-inquiry-spurs-investigation

The Los Angeles Police Department has barred officers and detectives from using outside facial recognition platforms in their investigations after uncovering a handful of detectives had used a powerful commercial software platform known as Clearview AI without permission.

“Department personnel shall not use third-party commercial facial recognition services or conduct facial recognition searches on behalf of outside agencies,” McMahon wrote.
Clearview could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. The company has a history of courting officers to try out its system.
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In an article published online Tuesday evening, BuzzFeed reported that documents it had reviewed “showed more than 25 LAPD employees had performed nearly 475 searches using Clearview AI as of earlier this year.”
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guest · Nov 30, 2020

Another City Is Using Crime Control as an Excuse for Facial Recognition Surveillance
Varanasi in India is installing 3,000 CCTV cameras with automated facial recognition tech
November 27, 2020
https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7v...ng-facial-recognition-surveillance-technology

Now, Varanasi, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is installing a new network of CCTV cameras that will include automated facial recognition cameras (AFRS). Authorities say the sole purpose of these cameras is to advance security measures and track suspected criminals.

The project, which began earlier this year in July with an investment of Rs 125 crore, is expected to be completed by April 2021. An Austrian company is in charge of its execution, which will be done through the company’s Indian subsidiary.
The project will connect all the police stations in the city to this CCTV network, with 500 kilometres of optical fibre being laid at 700 points in the city.

The new CCTV camera network is part of a government-sponsored “Smart City” project.
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This is not the first time a city is using crime control as an excuse to monitor its citizens closely. The South Wales police in the U.K. has been pioneering the use of facial recognition technology, deploying it on around 50 occasions from May of 2017 to April of 2019 at public events, as part of a Home Office.
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guest · Nov 30, 2020

Brazil trials facial recognition with retired public servants
November 30, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/brazil-trials-facial-recognition-with-retired-public-servants/

The Brazilian government has announced a facial recognition trial with retired public servants to support the process of periodic verification that the beneficiary is alive in order to continue receiving of benefits.

According to the Ministry of Economy, using the technology will save time and money for the government and make it more convenient for retired personnel and retirees, since the face-to-face appointments will no longer be required.
The Brazilian social security system is trialling facial recognition technology, also to support the proof of life process.
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guest · Dec 1, 2020

mood said: ↑

NIST study finds that masks defeat most facial recognition algorithms
July 27, 2020
https://venturebeat.com/2020/07/27/...ks-defeat-most-facial-recognition-algorithms/

NIST: NIST Launches Investigation of Face Masks’ Effect on Face Recognition Software
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Facial recognition systems are getting better at recognizing masked faces
New data from NIST shows significant improvement since July
December 1, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/1/21755078/libra-diem-name-change-cryptocurrency-facebook

Facial recognition algorithms are getting better at recognizing faces in masks, according to data published on Tuesday by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). Drawing on independent testing of more than 150 separate facial recognition algorithms, the new report suggests masks may not be as big a problem for facial recognition systems as initially thought.

When NIST first examined masks’ effect on facial recognition in July, it found that algorithms weren’t great at identifying faces with masks. Unsurprisingly, it’s harder to recognize a face when the nose and mouth are covered.
But the pandemic has given developers plenty of time to focus on the mask problem, and NIST’s data shows that facial recognition algorithms are getting better at working with masked faces.

“While a few pre-pandemic algorithms still remain within the most accurate on masked photos, some developers have submitted algorithms after the pandemic showing significantly improved accuracy and are now among the most accurate in our test,” the report reads.
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NIST’s public leaderboard for facial recognition tests bears out this claim. Eight different algorithms now hold false non-match rates below 0.05 percent. Six of those eight were submitted to NIST after the first report was published in July.
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guest · Dec 1, 2020

Massachusetts May Become First State To Ban Police Use Of Facial Recognition
December 1, 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachel...tate-to-ban-police-use-of-facial-recognition/

Massachusetts lawmakers on Tuesday passed a police reform bill that bans public agencies and law enforcement from using facial recognition, bringing it one step closer to becoming the first state to ban the technology as privacy and civil rights advocates increasingly object to its use.

If signed into law, Massachusetts would be the first state to ban public use of facial recognition, which has only been banned in cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, Boston and other smaller Massachusetts cities so far. Portland’s ban is the most stringent in the country because it also prohibits private companies from using the technology in public areas.
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guest · Dec 10, 2020

Controversial facial recognition quietly used by Co-op
The software was used in 18 shops across the Southern Co-op franchise
December 10, 2020
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...al-recognition-coop-supermarket-b1769214.html

The Co-op supermarket is using facial recognition to track people who enter its stores.

The technology has been implemented in 18 shops across the Southern Co-op franchise, with other regional areas reportedly trialing the systems, for the past 18 months.
The facial recognition technology used by Co-op comes from London start-up Facewatch. This is reportedly in response to an 80 per cent increase in assaults and violence against store employees, and the supermarket says that this usually comes when staff are apprehending shoplifters.

“The system alerts our store teams immediately when someone enters their store who has a past record of theft or anti-social behaviour,” Gareth Lewis, Loss prevention officer at the Southern Co-op, wrote in a blog post on the start-up’s website.
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Facewatch also said that it did not share data with the police, but has spoken before about being “in talks” with the London Metropolitan Police and the City of London police, according to the Financial Times.

“Scanning every person’s face as they enter a store in order to single out shoplifters may be effective, but it also raises concerns about how the data is being stored and for how long”, Ray Walsh, a Digital Privacy Expert at ProPrivacy, told The Independent.
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guest · Dec 10, 2020

mood said: ↑

Massachusetts May Become First State To Ban Police Use Of Facial Recognition
December 1, 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachel...tate-to-ban-police-use-of-facial-recognition/
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Massachusetts governor won’t sign police reform bill with facial recognition ban
December 11, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/10/m...ing-lawmakers-to-drop-facial-recognition-ban/

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has returned a police reform bill back to the state legislature, asking lawmakers to strike out several provisions — including one for a statewide ban on police and public authorities using facial recognition technology, the first of its kind in the United States.

Baker said in a letter to lawmakers that he objected to the ban, saying the use of facial recognition helped to convict several criminals, including a child sex offender and a double murderer.
In an interview with The Boston Globe, Baker said that he’s “not going to sign something that is going to ban facial recognition.”
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Under the bill, police and public agencies across the state would be prohibited from using facial recognition, with a single exception to run facial recognition searches against the state’s driver license database with a warrant. The state would be required to publish annual transparency figures on the number of searches made by officers going forward.
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Krusty · Dec 15, 2020

Air travel could be very different post-COVID with some pushing for facial recognition to replace boarding passes

The future of air travel could be very different in a post-COVID world, with the expansion of biometric testing and an effort to reduce the amount of surfaces and staff that travellers come into contact with when flying.

Airports are already very different places than they were last year, with extra screening, police checks and health warnings now in place.

COVID-19 has only accelerated the move by authorities to introduce more automation and data collection, according to Dr Leandro de Moraes, a postdoctoral research fellow in tourism, resilience and planning at the University of Melbourne.

"I anticipate that with the use of artificial intelligence and all the information systems that are growing, especially now with COVID-19, with contact tracing, that the management of travellers while at the airport will improve considerably," he said.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12...-covid-facial-recognition-technology/12988812

Your face could be your boarding pass
Perth Airport is already planning a major upgrade to embrace automation, with plans to introduce biometric facial recognition technology by 2022.

Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown told the ABC's AM program it was part of a broader plan to reduce the amount of surfaces people need to touch, and to minimise human interaction.

"You can check in online with your phone and as you come to the airport the machine recognises you as you come up to it," he said.

"You don't need a boarding card; your biometrics — your face — effectively is going to take you through embarkation, border control and then as you turn up at the departure gate to get onto your aircraft you're getting on the same automated gate.

"You don't have to keep taking your boarding pass and taking documents out of your pockets and taking documents back and forward."
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guest · Dec 18, 2020

US plans major expansion of facial recognition authority at airports
‘All aliens may be required to be photographed upon entry’
December 18, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/18...cognition-us-customs-biometric-exit-expansion

US Customs and Border Protection has filed for a significant expansion in its authority to conduct facial recognition at airports. On November 19th, the agency submitted a filing to the Federal Register seeking to expand the ongoing biometric exit program, broadening the program’s scope to include all air and land ports. The filing also shifts the program’s focus entirely to facial recognition, at the expense of alternate methods like fingerprinting.

“If this proposed rule is adopted as a final rule, CBP would continue to expand testing as necessary,” the filing reads.
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In particular, that will mean a blanket authorization to collect photographs of the faces of non-citizens.

“This proposed rule provides that all aliens may be required to be photographed upon entry and/or departure,” the filing explains. “The use of facial recognition technology upon entry and departure will make the process for verifying an alien’s identity more efficient and accurate.”
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guest · Dec 18, 2020

Alibaba Facial Recognition Tech Picks Out Uyghur Minorities
December 18, 2020
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/alibaba-tech-uyghur-alert/

Chinese multinational technology company Group Holding Ltd is offering Uyghur/ethnic minority recognition as a cloud service, according to a new report by surveillance industry researcher IPVM and The New York Times.

A record of the technology, perma.cc/9ZUV-UD2F, details how it can perform "glasses inspection" and "smile detection," and determine whether the subject is "ethnic" and, specifically, "Is it Uighur."
Since its discovery by IVPM, the record has been archived.

"Alibaba Cloud quickly deleted mentions of Uyghurs and minority detection on its website after Alibaba was contacted for comment," stated an IVPM spokesperson.
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Alibaba released a statement declaring that it was “dismayed” that Alibaba Cloud had developed facial recognition software that allows individuals in video imagery to be tagged by ethnicity.

An Alibaba spokeswoman told Reuters: “We have eliminated any ethnic tag in our product offering."
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Earlier this month, IPVM together with The Washington Post revealed that PRC-based tech companies Huawei and Megvii had tested and validated "Uyghur alarms" in face recognition software that were designed to be used in video surveillance projects by Chinese police.
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guest · Dec 21, 2020

mood said: ↑

US plans major expansion of facial recognition authority at airports
‘All aliens may be required to be photographed upon entry’
December 18, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/18...cognition-us-customs-biometric-exit-expansion
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Civil rights groups demand CBP stops facial recognition expansion at airports
The ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation and others objected to a DHS proposal
December 21, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/civil-rights-groups-cbp-facial-recognition-airports-seaports-211020854.html

The American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation and more than a dozen other civil rights groups have objected to Customs and Border Protection's plan to expand use of facial recognition at border entry and exit points.

"This plan is unjustified, unnecessary, and dangerous," Ashley Gorski, an ACLU senior staff attorney, wrote.
Gorski notes that faceprints can be stored for up to 75 years and that others have access to that database, including federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as foreign governments.

The groups filed their objection on Monday, the day the comment period closes on the proposal.
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ACLU: CBP’s Plan to Expand Face Surveillance at Airports is a Civil Liberties Disaster in the Making

Over the last couple years, it’s become increasingly clear that facial recognition technology doesn’t work well, and would be a civil liberties and privacy nightmare even if it did.
Face surveillance gives governments, companies, and individuals the power to spy on us wherever we go, and we are already seeing its harmful consequences.

CBP’s proposed use of face surveillance at airports, sea ports, and the land border would put the United States on an extraordinarily dangerous path toward the normalization of this surveillance and raises profound civil liberties concerns.
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guest · Dec 23, 2020

Cuomo signs bill halting use of facial recognition in schools pending further study
December 22, 2020
https://www.timesunion.com/news/art...of-facial-recognition-in-schools-15822151.php

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a bill Tuesday suspending the use of facial recognition and other kinds of biometric technology in schools, directing a study of whether its use is appropriate in schools.

The legislation places a moratorium on schools purchasing and using biometric identifying technology until at least July 1, 2022 or until the report is completed and the state Education Department authorizes its use. The rule applies to both public and private schools in New York.

"Facial recognition technology could provide a host of benefits to New Yorkers, but its use brings up serious and legitimate privacy concerns that we have to examine, especially in schools," Cuomo said.
The first-of-its-kind legislation halts the use of a face surveillance system in the Lockport City School District, which was first put into use in January 2020.
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NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman called the moratorium on biometric surveillance "a landmark piece of legislation that should serve as a national model" to end the use of facial recognition systems in schools.
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Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Suspending Use and Directing Study of Facial Recognition Technology in Schools

Legislation (A6787-D/S5140-B) Directs the Study of Whether Facial Recognition and Other Kinds of Biometric Technology Should be Used in Schools; Suspends Their Use Until Properly Reviewed
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guest · Dec 29, 2020

A Black man spent 10 days in jail after he was misidentified by facial recognition, a new lawsuit claims
December 29, 2020
https://markets.businessinsider.com...cognition-technology-crime-2020-12-1029922752

A Black man spent 10 days in jail after being misidentified by facial recognition cameras, according to a new lawsuit.

In early 2019, police were called to a shoplifting incident at the Hampton Inn hotel, in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The suspect fled the scene, however, clipping a police car with his own vehicle on his way.
Weeks later, local resident Nijeer Parks learned police had issued a warrant for his arrest.

"I had no idea what this was about," he told local news site NJ.com. "I'd never been to Woodbridge before...didn't even know for sure where it was." Upon arriving at the station, however, Parks was handcuffed and spent 10 days in jail.
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Unbeknownst to Williams at the time, he had been misidentified by facial recognition tech called DataWorks Plus, which was used by Michigan State Police.
New Jersey's attorney general Gurbir Grewal said the city had ordered police to stop using facial recognition technology.
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guest · Jan 5, 2021

ExamSoft’s proctoring software has a face-detection problem
January 5, 2021
https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/5/22215727/examsoft-online-exams-testing-facial-recognition-report

Gabe Teninbaum, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, is calling on ExamSoft to fix a serious bug with its test-taking software: failure to recognize faces. It’s a problem that can delay test takers — or bar them from starting their exams altogether — and per reports, it disproportionately impacts people with dark skin tones.

ExamSoft’s software records students while they complete remote exams and monitors for signs of academic dishonesty. Teninbaum’s report addresses an ExamSoft feature called ExamID, which aims to verify that test-takers are who they say they are.
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“These are students who are about to take a high-stakes exam with a lot on the line, and that is very unwelcome,” Teninbaum said in an interview with The Verge.
In his report, which is forthcoming in The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Law, Teninbaum outlines the workaround he found.
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guest · Jan 7, 2021

Facial recognition identifies people wearing masks
January 7, 2021
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55573802

Verification takes less than one second, with an accuracy rate of more than 99.9%, NEC says.

The Met Police uses NEC's NeoFace Live Facial Recognition to compare faces in a crowd with those on a watchlist.
Other clients include Lufthansa and Swiss International Airlines.

Shinya Takashima, assistant manager of NEC's digital platform division, told the Reuters news agency the technology could help people avoid contact with surfaces in a range of situations.
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Before the coronavirus pandemic, facial-recognition algorithms failed to identify 20-50% of images of people wearing face masks, according to a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
But by the end of 2020, it reported a vast improvement in accuracy.
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RollingThunder · Jan 8, 2021

mood said: ↑

Facial recognition identifies people wearing masks
January 7, 2021
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55573802
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It has been a long time since I have posted in here. It seems to me that for FR to be effective the distance between the eyes for instance becomes important. I do not see how FR can be effectively used when when a critical piece of information like the mouth is removed by the face-mask. With a mask on the size of the mouth is obscured including its relation to the nose and eyes. This is all information that is stored in the database that is drawn upon. I am guessing in the next 3-6 months as more and more people get inoculated the need for masks will slowly disappear thus boosting the detection ratio.

wildlights · Jan 8, 2021

Not surprising

guest · Jan 11, 2021

mood said: ↑

Millions of people uploaded photos to the Ever app. Then the company used them to develop facial recognition tools.
“The app developers were not clear about their intentions," one Ever user said. "I believe it’s a huge invasion of privacy.”
May 9, 2019
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/securi...otos-ever-app-then-company-used-them-n1003371
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FTC settles with photo storage app that pivoted to facial recognition
The agency says Ever used customers’ images without their permission
January 11, 2021
https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/11/...nition-ever-settled-paravision-privacy-photos

The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with photo storage app Ever that it says used customers’ photos to develop facial recognition technology without telling them, the agency announced Monday.

Everalbum, which shut down Ever in August and rebranded itself as Paravision AI, is also prohibited from misrepresenting how it collects and uses personal information and how it protects users’ privacy. If it markets software to consumers for personal use, the company has to obtain express consent before using any biometric information it collects from users to create face embeddings or to develop facial recognition technology.
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According to the FTC, Everalbum told users that it would delete photos and videos of users who deactivated their accounts, but the agency said the company had failed to do so through at least October 2019, instead retaining them indefinitely.

In an email to The Verge, a Paravision spokesperson said the FTC order “reflects a change that has already taken place,” and the company has “no plans to run a consumer business moving forward.” Paravision’s face recognition model does not use any Ever users’ data, the spokesperson added.
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