CBS DC: Expert: New Facial Recognition Technology Threatens Privacy
Carl Szabo, policy counsel for NetChoice, an e-commerce trade association, which includes Yahoo, Google and Facebook, counters that the consent demand made little sense when the software is being used to track criminals.
“Having a default for consent doesn’t necessarily make sense for all the different uses of facial recognition technology,” Szabo said to CBS News. “For example, if you had to have a default option for facial recognition technology to identify known shoplifters, I don’t know a single criminal who would opt in.”
But he acknowledges that doing nothing to reassure the public will come back to bite the industry in the long run.
“Without guidelines, the risk exists that consumers may become fearful of an otherwise beneficial technology and legislators would over-regulate a burgeoning technology before it has a chance to shine,” he explained.