Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On December 23, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is seeking public comments on the privacy and security implications raised by the use of facial recognition technology. The FTC recently held a public workshop entitled “Face Facts: A Forum on Facial Recognition Technology,” that discussed the current and future commercial applications of facial recognition technologies and the associated privacy and security concerns.

The FTC’s announcement specifically requests public comments on the following questions:

• What are the current and future commercial uses of these technologies?
• How can consumers benefit from the use of these technologies?
• What are the privacy and security concerns surrounding the adoption of these technologies, and how do they vary depending on how the technologies are implemented?
• Are there special considerations that should be given for the use of these technologies on or by populations that may be particularly vulnerable, such as children?
• What are best practices for providing consumers with notice and choice regarding the use of these technologies?
• Are there situations where notice and choice are not necessary? By contrast, are there contexts or places where these technologies should not be deployed, even with notice and choice?
• Is notice and choice the best framework for dealing with the privacy concerns surrounding these technologies, or would other solutions be a better fit? If so, what are they?
• What are best practices for developing and deploying these technologies in a way that protects consumer privacy?

On June 14 and June 24 we reported on growing privacy and data security concerns related to the use of facial recognition technology.