Report: Facial Recognition Faces Fresh Concerns, Calls for Regulation

Is facial recognition growing too fast for its — and our — own good?

In the wake several wrongful arrests and incorrect ID attempts, facial recognition software is facing renewed questioning.

A report Saturday (Jan. 7) by Axios detailed what it called “alarming pitfalls” to the technology amid its growing adoption, including the jailing of a man who spent a week behind bars in Georgia after a facial recognition system incorrectly matched his face with a New Orleans robbery suspect, a region he had never been to.

While the man was eventually released, the tech mishap has rekindled concerns about the new technology, which is in the midst of a widespread rollout and adaptation to new use case.

In another case, the report said, an attorney was ejected from Radio City Music Hall after being identified by facial recognition tech installed in the concert venue, which the theater owner had set to single out lawyers from firms involved in lawsuits against it.

Evan Greer, director of digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future, said in a statement quoted by Axios that the use — or misuse — of facial recognition technology is in need of regulation.

This latest blowback comes as facial biometrics technology is moving from mobile-focused to a more widely relevant authentication solution, particularly when it comes to in-store payments, as PYMNTS reported last month.

In an interview with PYMNTS in October, Hamza Al-Ghatam, CEO at FACEKI, said that while biometrics use is still in its nascent stages, “there are a lot of [untapped] industries and fields that can benefit from such a technology” beyond the financial sector.

Those benefits include a mix of security and convenience and the incorporation of iris recognition and 3D scanning to make sure systems are not misled by a photo.

“Ultimately, as the biometrics infrastructure is laid down, mobile devices are likely to become less essential for authentication, just as physical cards and documents no longer hold the critical role they once did,” PYMNTS wrote.

Meanwhile, recent PYMNTS research shows that consumers have become believers in new security technologies such as biometrics, with 58% believing biometric authentication methods like facial recognition are quicker and offer more convenience. In addition, 55% of consumers say they trust biometrics compared to alternatives.