-
Facebook announces it will end use of facial recognition software
The BBC reported, Facebook has announced it will no longer use facial recognition software to identify faces in photographs and videos.
It said that there have been growing concerns about the ethics of facial recognition technology, with questions raised over privacy, racial bias, and accuracy.
The company said, regulators had not yet provided a clear set of rules over how it should be used.
It has faced a barrage of criticism over its impact on its users.
Until now, users of the social media app could choose to opt in to the feature which would scan their face in pictures and notify them if someone else on the platform had posted a picture of them.
In a blog post, Jerome Pesenti, vice president of artificial intelligence at the firm said: "Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate."
Read more: Taliban bans foreign currencies in Afghanistan
In 2019, a US government study suggested facial recognition algorithms were far less accurate at identifying African-American and Asian faces compared to Caucasian faces.
African-American women were even more likely to be misidentified, according to the study conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Last year, Facebook also settled a long-running legal dispute about the way it scans and tags photos.
The case has been ongoing since 2015, and it was agreed the firm would pay $550m (£421m) to a group of users in Illinois who argued its facial recognition tool was in violation of the state's privacy laws.
Other tech firms such as Amazon and Microsoft have both suspended facial recognition product sales to police as the uses for the technology have become more controversial.
Read more: UK’s longest lasting snow patch disappears for ‘eighth time in 300 years’
It is facing increased scrutiny from regulators including the US the Federal Trade Commission, which has filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging anticompetitive practices.
And last month, a former employee accused the company of unethical behaviour. Frances Haugen released a cache of internal documents which she said showed Facebook had put profit before user safety.
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerburg said Ms Haugen's claims were part of a co-ordinated effort to "paint a false picture" of the company.
The firm recently announced a new name, Meta, for the broader parent company following a series of negative stories about Facebook.
Mr Zuckerberg said the existing brand could not "possibly represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future" and needed to change.
Source: BBC
You May Also Like
Popular Posts
Caricature
NATO Secretary-General Ex...
- November 7, 2024
Amid growing anxiety among several European countries participating in NATO over Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated he looks forward to sitting down with Trump.
Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.
Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.
On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.
It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.
Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.
Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
opinion
Report
ads
Newsletter
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!