A lawsuit has been filed in Illinois against WeWork, global real-estate company and provider of shared office space, alleging the use of facial recognition scans without consent. The plaintiff in the case, Elliot Osborne, alleges that “When individuals arrive at a WeWork office space, each Defendant requires them to have their facial geometry scanned to…
Of all the biometric modalities, facial recognition has become one of the most widely used and discussed in recent years. That’s why November is Face Biometrics Month at FindBiometrics, in which we’ll be delivering in-depth articles and other special features dedicated to this technology. It’s a broad category though, with facial recognition deployed across a…
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration in an effort to compel the agencies to hand over information about their use of facial recognition technology. The information was first requested in a Freedom of Information Act filing submitted in January of this…
Biometrics News – Facial Recognition Tom Morello and Evan Greer have penned an incendiary op-ed for Buzzfeed to encourage the public to mobilize against the ongoing rollout of facial recognition. The article specifically references the recent (and successful) efforts to prevent the deployment of facial recognition tech at large music festivals, suggesting that it could…
Hong Kong police have access to facial recognition technology, but it isn’t clear if they have deployed it in their response to ongoing public protests, reports the South China Morning Post. Citing anonymous individuals who are familiar with the matter, the report says that Hong Kong’s police force has been contracting facial recognition technology from…
The United States ranks just as poorly as the worst European Union members when it comes to privacy laws and government surveillance, according to a new analysis from Comparitech. Conducted by privacy advocate and tech journalist Paul Bischoff, the analysis scores various countries out of five, with 4.1-5 indicating that a country ‘upholds privacy standards…
Biometrics News – Facial Recognition Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a branch of The Department of Homeland Security, have filed a Request for Information to vendors seeking information and/or recommendations on biometric identity verification and body worn cameras. According to the RFI, the aim is to outfit Border Patrol agents with body cameras with the…
Detroit lawmakers are expressing concern about law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology. City council member Roy McCalister, Jr. will be discussing the technology at an upcoming community forum, while US Representative Brenda Lawrence is planning to introduce legislation that would regulate the technology at the federal level. The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners formally…
Biometrics News – Facial Recognition NEC Asia Pacific has teamed up with a US-based network security firm to help shore up the defenses of its smart city platform. The company has signed on as a reseller of BlackRidge’s cybersecurity solutions, with a focus on the latter’s TAC Identity Device. TAC-ID is a two-port, in-line network…
China’s extensive biometric surveillance apparatus is poised to expand even further through the efforts of a major cell tower company: China Tower has established a new subsidiary called Smart Tower that is aimed at offering video surveillance services. As Light Reading reports, China Tower is jointly owned by China’s three major telecoms, and has 1.9…
The biometrics industry spans across a wide range of technologies and sectors, and this week’s roundup of FindBiometrics’ top news stories runs the gamut. First up is news about an extra-early round of funding for India-based digital identity startup Syntizen Technologies. The company didn’t disclose how much money it brought in through the funding round,…
With September coming to a close, it’s time to take a look back at some of FindBiometrics’ featured coverage of Government Biometrics Month. The government sector is one of the most important components of the broader biometrics industry – indeed, it’s a driving force – so it’s always well worth taking a look at some…
Law enforcement’s unmonitored use of facial recognition technology has come under increasing scrutiny in the past few months. Bernie Sanders has echoed San Francisco and called for a complete ban on the police use of the technology, while Microsoft recently stated that it will refuse to sell its facial recognition tech for mass surveillance. With…
“… at least one of the researchers involved in the project has highlighted its potential use for police in monitoring crowds…” Chinese researchers have developed a 500MP camera system able to capture detailed images of tens of thousands of faces in a single frame, according to a new report. The system was developed by researchers…
India is moving forward with plans to set up a massive facial recognition surveillance scheme. The proposed system would centralize biometric data from multiple national databases, and would gather new data through a network of facial recognition cameras that would be set up throughout the country. Officials are hoping that the new system will help…
City officials in Detroit have come to a compromise on police use of facial recognition technology, with an oversight committee clearing it for criminal investigations but banning the technology’s use in live surveillance. Police in Detroit had first started using facial recognition software in 2017, with Detroit City Council having approved its purchase. But as…
Microsoft is doubling down on its commitment to the ethical use of facial recognition. The company previously refused to sell facial recognition technology to a California law enforcement agency, and has now extended that moratorium to any government organization that would misuse the technology, specifically for surveillance. “We won’t sell facial recognition services for the…
After an initial trial phase, Philadelphia-based VSBLTY and Mexico City’s Energetika have announced a formal agreement concerning the joint deployment of their smart city solutions. Essentially, the collaboration will see Energetika’s energy-efficient lighting technology combined with VSBLTY’s crowd analytics and facial recognition technology in urban public security deployments. The companies’ contract will run to August…
“The efforts reflect the larger, increasingly contentious debate around facial recognition technology, which largely revolves around the axes of privacy advocates’ fears of Big Brother-style surveillance, and police organizations’ insistence that it offers a useful security and policing tool.” Fight for the Future, a non-profit advocacy group aimed at promoting a free internet, is now…