What you need to know about face surveillance

Summary

This article on face recognition technology makes the following points:

• First, people do care about privacy.

• It’s not secrecy but allowing the individual to decide how much of their information should be public.

• Facial recognition technology takes surveillance to a new level by creating records that are difficult to delete.

• Unfettered surveillance is like the Panopticon Prison; the state can monitor every aspect of life.

• Nearly all technology can be hacked, so Internet surveillance of you and your property might result in your home being burgled.

• There is potential for technology to make mistakes such as a bad facial recognition match leading to a wrongful arrest.

• Facial recognition technology needs genuinely independent oversight and regulation. 

• There is nearly always a risk of bias or corruption, which has implications for how data collected might be used.

• Currently, mobile phones can track movement, but we can choose not to carry a phone.