92 Final Country Report: Facial Recognition
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Facial Recognition Background and History
Facial recognition was first started in 1964 and 1965 with Helen Chan Wolf, Woody Bledsoe, and Charles Bisson. They worked together using computer software to recognize the human face. Much of their work didn’t have a chance to get published due to funding of the program being from an unnamed intelligence agency. However, this technology is new, and can only recognize the human face by eye centers, mouth, etc. Thus, they were hampered by the technology of the era, but this is the first step human started getting into facial recognition technology. It wasn’t until the 1970s, that Goldstein, Harmon, and Lesk extended the work by incorporating 21 unique subjective criteria, such as hair color and lip thickness. Then people started to use linear algebra for facial recognition during the 1980s and 1990s. Face Recognition Vendor Tests (FRVT) were first conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the early 2000s. Based on FERET, FRVTs was created to provide independent government reviews of commercially available facial recognition systems as well as prototype technology. In 2010, Facebook started to use facial recognition to help them identify people’s faces in the photos users have uploaded on Facebook. In 2017, iPhone has launched iPhone X to collect users’ FaceID. As of today, facial recognition technology is continuing to develop and is widespread around the world. According to the article, they have listed the places where the facial recognition system is being used today, these include:
- Retail
- ATMs
- Staffless Stores
- Digital Advertising
- Bus Safety
- Airlines
- Hospitality and Resorts
- Personalized Customer Experience
Pros and Cons of Facial Recognition
As facial recognition technology continues to develop. There are the good sides and bad sides to private entities and governments using this technology. For social safety, having facial recognition can help local policy easier define and target the criminals, protect small businesses and retail stores from thefts, and strengthen security measurement. On the other hand, there are also some cons of using facial recognition, such as the threat of privacy, limited freedom for citizens, immature technology that can cause errors that can implicate innocent people, and violates the human rights of citizens.
Recent News
Italy slaps facial recognition firm Clearview AI with €20 million fine by A. Khalid
This news article shares about Clearview AI, a contentious facial recognition company, that has been charged with breaking EU legislation. Italy’s data protection regulator discovered that the company’s collection of 10 billion photos of faces contains images of Italians and Italian residents. The corporation, situated in New York City, has been fined €20 million and will have to destroy whatever face biometrics it has on Italian citizens.
The Clearview AI website, they have stated that Clearview AI was able to gather information through the open internet such as mugshots, news sites, social media sites, and more. However, Clearview AI reserve the right to collect data in the U.S. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) even awarded Clearview AI the “Methods for Providing Information About a Person Based on Facial Recognition” patent, U.S. Patent No. 11,250,266, for its capacity to acquire publically available information from the open internet. Italian governments still feel unsafe having biometric data collected by American entities, even Clearview AI was highly awarded by the U.S. government.
EU’s Regulations on Facial Recognition
Europe’s Next Steps in Regulating Facial Recognition Technology
In June 2021, the EU started drafting its regulations against AI. Later they have expand the range which will include regulations against “any use of AI for automated recognition of human features in publicly accessible spaces, such as recognition of faces, gait, fingerprints, DNA, voice, keystrokes and other biometric or behavioral signals, in any context.”
The European Parliament enacted a nonbinding resolution on October 6, 2021, prohibiting the use of facial recognition by law enforcement in public spaces and the construction of private facial recognition databases. While the nonbinding resolution does not affect the draft AI law, it is expected to reflect the European Parliament’s position on the importance of strict facial recognition limitations. Thus, even though the regulations still weren’t fully completed by the EU, there are laws to protect EU members’ privacy from the facial recognition system.
The Spreading of Facial Recognition in Italy
How facial recognition is spreading in Italy: the case of Como by Unmasking Policing, Inc.
This wasn’t the first time the Italian government faced the issue of data protection on facial recognition. According to the article, the facial recognition spread in Itlay from the city, of Como, one of Italy’s most advanced cities in the use of facial recognition technology (FRT). The regulations and legal framework were unclear for private entities using the FRT system. By partnering with Huawei, they have installed the “innovative video surveillance system” that can capture passers-faces, by’s as well as to detect loitering, transmit an alert when an item is left unattended, and provide a tripwire function (checking if someone trespasses a forbidden area). It also allows operators to look for anyone on a “blacklist” or create a “red list” of those designated VIPs who will not have their photographs recorded. The article also mentioned persistent and extensive surveillance facilitated by facial recognition technology poses a serious threat not only to Italian citizens’ privacy but also to Italy’s society as a whole, “we cannot be free if we are constantly monitored by those in power”.
The Italian DPA( Data Protection Authority) issued a decision against the Municipality of Como on February 26, 2019, demanding the suspension of the FRT ( facial recognition technology) system. The processing of biometric data by the Municipality of Como is prohibited, according to the DPA. In November 2019, they again launched a new tender, for the enhancement of the video surveillance system. New “intelligent” cameras will be installed in other parts of the city as part of the initiative. The new cameras installed in 2020, which are now turned off, were installed for future use, according to Como. The cameras were essentially built “just in case” their use was deemed permissible in the future. Even though privacy is still an issue, the local Questore (the Chief of Police) said that “the Province of Como is one of the safest in the country and that the era outside the station is not interested in any specific crime situation, except the regulation of minor risks common for urban transit area.”
The Social Security
How Face Recognition Technology Can Prevent Crime by FaceFrist
However, in some other countries, the government believes that facial regulation systems should help communities prevent crime rates. According to the article, FaceFirst data, using face recognition resulted in a 91 % decrease in violent crime.
The latest Automatic Image Recognition System was initially acquired by Italian policy in 2017 to keep an eye on migrant and asylum seeker arrivals along the Italian coasts, as well as associated activities.
Legal Issue
Italy introduces a moratorium on video surveillance systems that use facial recognition by EDRi
The Italian Parliament prohibited video surveillance systems that use facial recognition technologies on December 1, 2021. For the first time in an EU Member State, this law imposes a temporary ban on private entities using these systems in public spaces. This moratorium will be forced till 31 December 2023. Public places such as shops, stores, public transport, etc. will not allow using video surveillance systems with facial recognition. This moratorium also applies to governments departments, but there could be expectations that force Italy to step back in terms of using technology in areas such as law enforcement agencies, judicial authorities, and public prosecutors.
When considering the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure, these changes are more serious. The Italian Code of Criminal Procedure does not use any prescriptions for the use of facial recognition systems: “there are neither specifications on the types of crime for which it can be used nor details on the duration of the use of these technologies.” This means that a prosecutor may demand the use of a real-time facial recognition system to verify the identity of people who meet with a suspect in a public square where hundreds of other people passing by have nothing to do with the investigation but whose biometric data is collected and analyzed by the facial recognition system.
Conclusion
Even though the facial recognition system regulations are not fully well developed for both EU and Itlay due to the technology is still new to the public, Italy is still trying to prohibit its use of it by any private entities, and also trying to not use any foreign technologies to collect their own citizen’s data. Clearview AI’s 20 million euro fine gives a great example to show Italy’s attitudes and how Italy is against foreign private corporations collecting Italians’ biometric data. I think in the future Italy will try to continue to develop their technology system so they can have full control of their citizen’s data. Regulations toward AI technologies and systems will also continue to update in the future due to how fast the technology is developing around the world today. For any country to protect its citizens’ privacy and human right is to keep growing the country’s economy and technology.
I think Italy will continue to allow the use of FRT in the public, but only for Italian policy departments, not any private corporations. Even though the corporations are Italian-based, there’s still too much risk to allow them to use it toward consumers. These risks might include companies selling the data, using the data improperly, don’t have the ability to protect the data from hackers, etc.
Works Cited
A brief history of facial recognition – NEC New Zealand. NEC. (2021, May 14). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.nec.co.nz/market-leadership/publications-media/a-brief-history-of-facial-recognition/
Clearview AI’s Revolutionary Facial Recognition Platform awarded U.S. patent. Clearview AI. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.clearview.ai/press-release-clearview-ais-revolutionary-facial-recognition-platform-awarded-us-patent#:~:text=11%2C250%2C266%2C%20issued%20by%20the%20U.S.,more)%20and%20then%20accurately%20match
How face recognition technology can prevent crime. FaceFirst Face Recognition Software. (2019, March 14). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.facefirst.com/blog/why-is-face-recognition-the-new-way-to-prevent-crime/#:~:text=According%20to%20FaceFirst%20data%2C%20retailers,the%20pages%20of%20science%20fiction.
How facial recognition is spreading in Italy: The case of como. Privacy International. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://privacyinternational.org/case-study/4166/how-facial-recognition-spreading-italy-case-como
Italy introduces a moratorium on video surveillance systems that use facial recognition. European Digital Rights (EDRi). (2021, December 14). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://edri.org/our-work/italy-introduces-a-moratorium-on-video-surveillance-systems-that-use-facial-recognition/
Khalid, A. (2022, March 9). Italy slaps facial recognition firm Clearview AI with €20 million fine. Engadget. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.engadget.com/italy-slaps-facial-recognition-firm-clearview-ai-with-20-million-euro-fine-212500109.html
Pros and cons of facial recognition. Senstar. (2022, April 22). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://senstar.com/senstarpedia/pros-and-cons-of-facial-recognition/
Wadsworth, T. J. (2021, November 7). Europe’s next steps in regulating facial recognition technology. Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-blog/europes-next-steps-in-regulating-facial-recognition-technology#:~:text=On%20October%206th%2C%202021%2C%20the,of%20private%20facial%20recognition%20databases.