facial recognition technology

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Facial Recognition Costs Meta $1.4B in Texas

Lone Star State had sued over unauthorized use of Texans' biometrics

(Newser) - Meta has agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas in a privacy lawsuit over claims that the tech giant used biometric data of users without their permission, officials said Tuesday. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the settlement is the largest secured by a single state, reports the...

Unusual Settlement Reached in Facial-Recognition Lawsuit

Clearview AI offers a stake in company to Americans whose photos it used

(Newser) - Congratulations, you might soon be the part-owner of a facial-recognition company powered by artificial intelligence. Granted, the stake is miniscule, but still. The weirdness is the result of what Reuters describes as an "unusual" class-action settlement by the company Clearview AI. The lawsuit accuses Clearview of grabbing billions of...

Rite Aid Banned From Using Facial Recognition Tech

For the next 5 years, at least

(Newser) - Due to what the Federal Trade Commission calls Rite Aid's "reckless" use of facial recognition technology in hundreds of stores from 2012 to 2020, the drugstore chain is now prohibited from using it for five years. The ban is part of Rite Aid's settlement with the FTC...

Pregnant Woman's Arrest Spurs a Change

Detroit police can't rely solely on facial recognition system, chief says

(Newser) - Detroit's police chief said he's setting new policies on the use of facial-recognition technology after a woman who was eight months pregnant said she was wrongly charged with robbery and carjacking in a case that was ultimately dismissed by prosecutors. The technology, which was used on images taken...

Facial Recognition Fails: Pregnant Woman Wrongly Arrested

Porcha Woodruff sues city of Detroit, says facial-recognition technology led to that false arrest

(Newser) - When a very pregnant Porcha Woodruff was approached by cops earlier this year and told she was being arrested, the 32-year-old aesthetician and nursing school student from Detroit initially thought they were kidding. It was no joke, however, and now she's suing the city, alleging a false arrest based...

New TSA Tech Assesses If 'You Are Who You Say You Are'

Pilot program is using facial recognition in 16 airports, but some are worried about privacy issues

(Newser) - A passenger walks up to an airport security checkpoint, slips an ID card into a slot, and looks into a camera atop a small screen. The screen flashes "Photo Complete," and the person walks through—all without having to hand over their identification to the Transportation Security Administration...

Armed Robbers Tap Accounts of Unconscious Victims

NYPD says facial recognition was used on bar patrons

(Newser) - Robbers took thousands of dollars from three men last fall by using the facial recognition software on their phones against them, New York police reported. The victims had gone to the Eagle NYC, a gay leather bar in the Chelsea neighborhood, on different nights, per NBC News . Each lost $1,...

Mom's Attempt to See Rockettes Stymied by Facial Recognition

Kelly Conlon says she was booted from Radio City Music Hall because of where she works

(Newser) - A mother and attorney from New Jersey is warning about powerful companies' use of facial recognition to target perceived enemies after the technology helped get her kicked out of a show at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. Kelly Conlon was escorting a Girl Scouts troop to a...

Ukraine IDs Russian Bodies, Contacts Soldiers' Mothers

Women back home are receiving photos of their sons' bodies, and critics say it's cruel

(Newser) - Throughout the war, Ukraine has spoken directly to the mothers of Russian soldiers. A month ago, defense officials told the women they could travel to Kyiv to collect their POW sons . Last week, per the Wall Street Journal , President Volodymyr Zelensky told the women that Russian troops killed civilians in...

IRS Drops Facial Recognition Plan
IRS Drops Facial
Recognition Plan
Feb 7, 2022 7:35 PM CST

IRS Drops Facial Recognition Plan

Agency is suspending use of private company for identity verification

(Newser) - The IRS is backing away from what some critics saw as another step toward a dystopian future: a plan to have a private company use facial recognition to verify taxpayers' identities. The agency, which was facing a backlash from lawmakers from both parties, along with the ACLU and other privacy...

IRS Outsources Online Security to Private Company

Video selfies will be required for some online functions by this summer

(Newser) - The bane of some people’s existence, the Internal Revenue Service, is about to make life a little harder this summer. American taxpayers will be unable to perform most functions at IRS.gov without providing a video selfie to a private identity verification company, CNBC reports. Do not panic yet—...

Facebook to Delete Faceprints of 1B Users

Company is shutting down its facial-recognition system

(Newser) - Facebook said Tuesday it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people, per the AP . The move comes as the company has come under intense scrutiny for causing harm with its technology. “This change will represent one of the largest shifts...

Shoppers Using Mall Kiosks Unknowingly Photographed

Watchdogs say Cadillac Fairview broke Canadian privacy laws

(Newser) - A commercial real estate company behind major shopping malls in Canada broke privacy laws in taking 5 million photos of shoppers and using facial recognition technology without their knowledge, according to federal and provincial privacy commissioners. Cadillac Fairview embedded inconspicuous cameras at digital information kiosks at 12 shopping malls—two...

Staff Used $1B Startup's Security Cameras to Harass

No one was fired, a move Verkada's CEO defends

(Newser) - A surveillance startup boasting clients including Juul Labs, Red Lobster, and the city of Memphis has come under fire over claims that its own facial recognition system was used to harass female employees. Motherboard and the Verge are out with reports on the behavior at the Silicon Valley headquarters of...

IBM: It's Time to Talk About Police Use of Facial Recognition Tech

Company says it will no longer offer the technology

(Newser) - IBM says it is turning away from facial recognition technology—and the company thinks it's time for the country to take a hard look at its use by law enforcement. The company said in a letter to Congress that it will no longer offer, or research, "general purpose"...

In This School District, a Controversial Way to Flush Out Threats

Civil rights advocates say western NY system compromises student privacy

(Newser) - An upstate New York school district has begun using facial recognition technology to look for threats, over the objection of civil rights advocates who say it compromises student privacy. The Lockport City School District said it activated the system Thursday after meeting conditions set by state education officials, including that...

Photo of Woody Harrelson Helps Catch Beer Thief

NYPD used facial recognition tech to find lookalike

(Newser) - Clever police work—or an abuse of technology? When a suspect who looked a lot like a long-haired Woody Harrelson was caught on camera stealing beer from a CVS and the NYPD's facial-recognition system didn't provide any matches, a detective used a photo of the actor, according to...

This Is the First US City to Ban Police Use of Facial Recognition

San Francisco institutes ban

(Newser) - San Francisco supervisors voted Tuesday to ban the use of facial recognition software by police and other city departments, becoming the first US city to outlaw a rapidly developing technology that has alarmed privacy and civil liberties advocates, the AP reports. The ban is part of broader legislation that requires...

This City Could Be First in US to Ban Police Use of Facial Recognition

San Francisco supervisors will vote on bill Tuesday

(Newser) - San Francisco is on track to become the first US city to ban the use of facial recognition by police and other city agencies, reflecting a growing backlash against a technology that's creeping into airports, motor vehicle departments, stores, stadiums, and home security cameras, the AP reports. Government agencies...

Teen Says Apple's Facial Recognition Tech Got Him Arrested

He's suing for $1 billion over the matter

(Newser) - A New York 18-year-old says he was falsely arrested in November—and he blames Apple's facial recognition technology. Ousmane Bah says Apple uses such technology to identify shoplifters at its stores, and he's suing the tech giant for $1 billion over the matter, the New York Post reports....

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