{"id":78400,"date":"2016-08-29T12:00:50","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T11:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=78400"},"modified":"2016-08-26T14:06:22","modified_gmt":"2016-08-26T13:06:22","slug":"orwell-could-never-have-predicted-this-level-of-surveillance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2016\/08\/orwell-could-never-have-predicted-this-level-of-surveillance\/","title":{"rendered":"Orwell Could Never Have Predicted This Level of Surveillance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"fbi-facial-recognition<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

24 Aug 2016 – <\/em>I love technology.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t imagine life without the modern conveniences of telephones, email, and the Internet. Not to mention running water, air conditioning, and automobiles.<\/p>\n

But sometimes, technology gets \u2026 well, creepy.<\/p>\n

And the creepier the technology, the more likely Big Brother will use it to keep tabs on you. A case in point is the increasing sophistication of facial recognition technology.<\/p>\n

Facial recognition combines digital images of faces with software that creates a unique \u201cfaceprint\u201d of each one, along with a database of images against which \u201cfaceprints\u201d can be compared.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, face recognition systems were almost laughably inaccurate.<\/p>\n

I have an article in my archives from 2003, in which two Japanese tourists visiting Australia fooled an early version of the technology simply by swapping passports. However, this strategy wouldn\u2019t fool today\u2019s face recognition software.<\/p>\n

In the US, you generally have no right to privacy with respect to your facial features. And no federal law regulates the collection of biometric data. If you\u2019re in a public place, the courts have concluded you have a greatly reduced expectation of privacy. Anyone with a camera can legally take your picture in a public space.<\/p>\n

But the rules for face recognition are beginning to change, thanks to laws in a handful of states and a court decision involving one of the largest collections of faceprints in existence, compiled by Facebook. Earlier this month, a federal judge in California refused to dismiss a class action lawsuit against Facebook brought by residents of Illinois. The lawsuit alleged Facebook collected, stored, and used faceprints in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The law is intended to protect the privacy of Illinois residents in their personal biometric data. Regulated biometric identifiers can include a scan of \u201cface geometry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook uses face recognition technology to match photographs users have uploaded to subsequently present \u201ctag suggestions\u201d for digitized images uploaded later. Subscribers can then \u201ctag\u201d friends or family members. At first glance, it seems completely harmless, especially since you can turn off \u201ctagging\u201d in your Facebook settings. But the Illinois plaintiffs didn\u2019t see it that way at all.<\/p>\n

And the fact is Facebook has the largest single collection of images ever assembled. More than one billion Facebook users had uploaded more than 250 billion pictures by 2013, and the total number today is undoubtedly much higher. Of course, not all the photos are of faces, but many \u2013 perhaps most \u2013 are.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s the real harm in allowing companies like Facebook to assemble vast face databases to make \u201ctag suggestions\u201d?<\/p>\n

Consider FindFace, a face recognition app now taking Russia by storm. FindFace allows users to photograph people on the street, in a bar, or anywhere else and identify them by matching the photos to digital images uploaded to VK, a Russian social networking site<\/strong>. VK has about 200 million users \u2013 large, but not nearly as big as Facebook. The developers claim the system is 70% reliable in identifying the right person, with each version of the app improving accuracy. Apparently, FindFace can\u2019t match photos posted on Facebook, at least not yet<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

The really creepy part is the way the app has already been used \u2013 and abused. FindFace makes it possible for stalkers to harass individuals on the street who have VK profiles. The founders \u2013 20-something males \u2013 envision being able to take a photo of an attractive woman, match her photo to a VK profile, and then ask her out on a date. But they believe the real breakthrough for their company will come when law enforcement authorities adopt it. They claim police have already used FindFace to locate criminal suspects who had seemingly disappeared.<\/p>\n

It turns out that something similar and even creepier is already underway in the US. But instead of Facebook, authorities are using a database you can\u2019t opt out of or turn off \u2013 archives of state driver\u2019s license photos. State and local police and the FBI all use face recognition software to scan state driver\u2019s license records to track down fugitives. And as part of the \u201cReal ID Act<\/a>,\u201d states must digitize driver\u2019s license photos, making it possible for face recognition software to sift through millions of photos in search of a match.<\/p>\n

Several companies have developed systems that allow police to search these facial archives. The systems consist of a handheld face recognition device that plugs into a smart phone, and they\u2019re being used by an increasing number of police departments nationwide.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see how this technology could be abused, and not just by stalkers.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re in a public demonstration against the ruling party that gets out of hand. Police identify the participants with face recognition and then arrest them at their leisure. Not to mention whistleblowers and those who support political causes or social issues that aren\u2019t approved of by most Americans.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy to protect your privacy against this technology, but I do have a few suggestions.<\/p>\n