Online network
Facebook gives up face recognition function
Facebook is abolishing the face recognition function that could automatically tag users in photos. Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
For years, Facebook has had trouble with its feature that can recognize friends’ faces in photos. Now the online network is making a radical cut.
Facebook is abolishing the face recognition function that could automatically tag users in photos. Stored data to identify the faces of more than a billion people will be deleted, as the online network announced on Tuesday.
In society there are concerns about the use of face recognition technologies – and regulators are still in the process of developing rules for it, it said to justify.
Most recently, users had to give their express consent for their names to be shown automatically to Facebook friends in photos. In Europe in particular, the online network with facial recognition encountered resistance from data protectionists.
Facebook sees further possible uses for the technology, for example for logging into an account or unlocking a device, it said. Work will continue on this – with due transparency for users. Face recognition could also be useful for identification in financial services. Among other things, Facebook is working on a digital wallet for the digital currency Diem developed by the group, which was originally known as Libra.
Names are no longer displayed
With the setting of the function, names are no longer displayed in previous photos, Facebook emphasized. Nothing will change for users who have not activated the function, as no data for facial recognition would have to be deleted.
The function had already caused problems for Facebook several times. The company paid more than half a billion dollars last year to settle a lawsuit in the US state of Illinois. The state has had a law since 2008 that forbids the collection of biometric data without the consent of those concerned. The plaintiffs accused Facebook of violating it by creating profiles to recognize the faces in photos.
The spread of face recognition technology has been viewed increasingly critically in recent years. The company Clearview AI also contributed, compiling a huge database based on publicly available photos from online networks and services such as Instagram. According to its own information, Clearview AI only offers its services to the police and other security authorities. However, their methods of data collection heightened concerns about the uncontrolled spread of the technology. Facebook and other services are trying to put a stop to the downloading of images in bulk. However, companies like Clearview have repeatedly managed to circumvent the measures.