Chhavideep Singh
Source: The Official Microsoft Blog – Microsoft
“Facial Recognition should be banned in Europe”, says the European Data Protection Supervisor- EDPS.
Facial recognition is one of the world’s most futuristic and advanced technology that has several beneficial implications. The technology can be used to outsmart the human criminal mind by finding his face among the crowds of hundreds and thousands. The technology has security implications and can be used by the government, defence forces and anyone who could find good use of this technology. Security matters such as unlocking your iPhone also include facial recognition. Fingerprints and facial recognition have become two of the most common security passcodes offered by technology companies such as Samsung and Apple.
However, the scope is beyond our imagination and is wider than it appears. So, why do European privacy watchdogs want to ban this technology in Europe?
Well, the European Data Protection Supervisor mentions the reason for wanting to ban facial recognition in Europe, saying that because of the technology’s non-democratic and deep intrusion into people’s lives.
As mentioned in a report by Reuters, the comments from the EDPS came just two days after the European Commission proposed draft rules that would enable and allow the government of Europe to use the Facial Recognition technology to find for criminals, missing children and terrorists in case of terrorist attacks.
Till now, the implications sound fair and there is no solid reason for the EDPS to trash out the draft rule proposals.
However, the report by Reuters clearly mentions that the European Data Protection Supervisor wants to get rid of this Facial Recognition technology from the lands of Europe and outrightly trash upon these draft rule proposals shared by the European Commission. The EDP says that the Commission’s approach to set global standards for internationally dominated technologies including Facial Recognition and Artificial Intelligence are strongly gripped by the United States and China.
The EDPS says that a stricter approach is required to be put in place for Europe, given that Artificial Intelligence technology might contribute to unprecedented developments for the nation but also pose extremely high risks of non-democratic and deep intrusion into European individual’s private lives.
Considering the explanation given by the EDPS, their concern is not completely wrong. It is true that the United States government and Chinese government dominate the Artificial intelligence and Facial Recognition technology and allowing these systems to scan and look over entire Europe may pose a threat to the fundamental right to privacy and data protection.
Let us know what you think about the positive implications of Facial Recognition technology and how can Europe implement the technology on their mainland without compromising on their nation’s security.