Facebook has switched off its photo facial recognition technology in the EU following a privacy probe from regulators. The service, which automatically suggests people to tag by scanning faces within the photos, was deemed a threat to privacy, according to the Irish data protection commission.
Billy Hawkes, who led the initial investigation and subsequent audit, said Facebook had gone beyond recommendations by totally abandoning the face-rec tech in the EU.
“I am particularly encouraged in relation to the approach it has decided to adopt on the tag suggest/facial recognition feature by in fact agreeing to go beyond our initial recommendations, in light of developments since then, in order to achieve best practice,” he said.
via Facebook turns off facial recognition tech in EU | News | TechRadar.
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Zhong Li is a tech journalist who covers the latest developments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology. Zhong Li is passionate about exploring the ethical and social implications of emerging technologies.