This book examines how face recognition technology is affecting privacy and confidentiality in an era of enhanced surveillance. Further, it offers a new approach to the complex issues of privacy and confidentiality, by drawing on Joseph K in Kafka’s disturbing novel The Trial, and on Isaiah Berlin’s notion of liberty and freedom. Taking into consideration rights and wrongs, protection from harm associated with compulsory visibility, and the need for effective data protection law, the author promotes ethical practices by reinterpreting privacy as a property right. To protect this right, the author advocates the licensing of personal identifiable images where appropriate. The book reviews American, UK and European case law concerning privacy and confidentiality, the effect each case has had on the developing jurisprudence, and the ethical issues involved. As such, it offers a valuable resource for students of ethico-legal fields, professionals specialising in image rights law, policy-makers, and liberty advocates and activists.

Face recognition technologies (FRTs) have many practical security-related purposes, but advocacy groups and individuals have expressed apprehensions about their use. This report highlights the high-level privacy and bias implications of FRT systems. The authors propose a heuristic with two dimensions -- consent status and comparison type -- to help determine a proposed FRT's level of privacy and accuracy. They also identify privacy and bias concerns.

Since the 1960s, a significant effort has been underway to program computers to “see” the human face—to develop automated systems for identifying faces and distinguishing them from one another—commonly known as Facial Recognition Technology. While computer scientists are developing FRT in order to design more intelligent and interactive machines, businesses and states agencies view the technology as uniquely suited for “smart” surveillance—systems that automate the labor of monitoring in order to increase their efficacy and spread their reach. Tracking this technological pursuit, Our Biometric Future identifies FRT as a prime example of the failed technocratic approach to governance, where new technologies are pursued as shortsighted solutions to complex social problems. Culling news stories, press releases, policy statements, PR kits and other materials, Kelly Gates provides evidence that, instead of providing more security for more people, the pursuit of FRT is being driven by the priorities of corporations, law enforcement and state security agencies, all convinced of the technology’s necessity and unhindered by its complicated and potentially destructive social consequences. By focusing on the politics of developing and deploying these technologies, Our Biometric Future argues not for the inevitability of a particular technological future, but for its profound contingency and contestability.

This highly anticipated new edition provides a comprehensive account of face recognition research and technology, spanning the full range of topics needed for designing operational face recognition systems. After a thorough introductory chapter, each of the following chapters focus on a specific topic, reviewing background information, up-to-date techniques, and recent results, as well as offering challenges and future directions. Features: fully updated, revised and expanded, covering the entire spectrum of concepts, methods, and algorithms for automated face detection and recognition systems; provides comprehensive coverage of face detection, tracking, alignment, feature extraction, and recognition technologies, and issues in evaluation, systems, security, and applications; contains numerous step-by-step algorithms; describes a broad range of applications; presents contributions from an international selection of experts; integrates numerous supporting graphs, tables, charts, and performance data.

Private face recognition technologies are increasingly entering the private and public sphere, with no adequate checks and balances. This comprehensive and important new reference work explores crucial regulatory challenges, stemming from the use of private face recognition technologies in Europe. After detecting technological neutrality in law, legal uncertainty in case law and the risk of over-surveillance, it recommends an ex ante and targeted classification approach with a view to minimising privacy harms. Under the proposed scheme, an expert agency can scrutinise a given technology, balance conflicting stakes, classify that technological use and, finally, give a ‘go’, ‘no-go’ or ‘go-in-condition’ decision, before its actual implementation in the real-world. Recommended for legal and technology researchers and scholars focusing on surveillance and privacy, as well as government, regulatory and civil rights agencies.

Since the 1960s, a significant effort has been underway to program computers to “see” the human face—to develop automated systems for identifying faces and distinguishing them from one another—commonly known as Facial Recognition Technology. While computer scientists are developing FRT in order to design more intelligent and interactive machines, businesses and states agencies view the technology as uniquely suited for “smart” surveillance—systems that automate the labor of monitoring in order to increase their efficacy and spread their reach. Tracking this technological pursuit, Our Biometric Future identifies FRT as a prime example of the failed technocratic approach to governance, where new technologies are pursued as shortsighted solutions to complex social problems. Culling news stories, press releases, policy statements, PR kits and other materials, Kelly Gates provides evidence that, instead of providing more security for more people, the pursuit of FRT is being driven by the priorities of corporations, law enforcement and state security agencies, all convinced of the technology’s necessity and unhindered by its complicated and potentially destructive social consequences. By focusing on the politics of developing and deploying these technologies, Our Biometric Future argues not for the inevitability of a particular technological future, but for its profound contingency and contestability.

Having overcome the high costs and poor accuracy that once stunted its growth, one form of biometric technology -- facial recognition -- is quickly moving out of the realm of science fiction and into the commercial marketplace. Today, companies are deploying facial recognition technologies in a wide array of contexts, reflecting a spectrum of increasing technological sophistication. This book discusses recent and possible future advances in the use of facial recognition technologies; ways consumers can benefit from these uses; and the privacy and security concerns raised while promoting innovation.