Facebook Shuttering Facial Recognition System, Will Delete Data From Over a Billion Users

[MacRumors]

Facebook is shutting down its Face Recognition system and will delete the facial data of more than 1 billion of its users, Facebook parent company Meta announced this morning.

People who opted in to Face Recognition will no longer be automatically recognized in photos and videos, and their facial recognition templates will be deleted.

According to Facebook VP of Artificial Intelligence Jerome Pesenti, Facebook is making this change because it needs to weigh the positive use cases for facial recognition against growing societal concerns" as regulators "have yet to provide clear rules."

Facial recognition has been available on Facebook since 2011, and at the time that it debuted, Facebook turned the feature on automatically for more than 500 million people. The option, called Tag Recognition at the time, was designed to recognize Facebook users in photos and videos posted by other users, tagging all of the people in the photo.

There were immediate privacy concerns with the launch of the feature, which have persisted to this day. Facebook in December 2017 introduced an expanded Face Recognition feature and with it, an opt-out option.

Facebook says that more than a third of Facebook's daily active users have facial recognition enabled, and the change required "careful consideration." It will disable an Automatic Alt Text feature for blind users that automatically provided the names of people in photos.

Though Face Recognition in its current incarnation is shutting down, Facebook will continue to work on facial recognition technologies.

Looking ahead, we still see facial recognition technology as a powerful tool, for example, for people needing to verify their identity, or to prevent fraud and impersonation. We believe facial recognition can help for products like these with privacy, transparency and control in place, so you decide if and how your face is used. We will continue working on these technologies and engaging outside experts.

But the many specific instances where facial recognition can be helpful need to be weighed against growing concerns about the use of this technology as a whole. There are many concerns about the place of facial recognition technology in society, and regulators are still in the process of providing a clear set of rules governing its use. Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate.

Face Recognition and the features that it enables will be officially removed "over the coming weeks." When disabled, people will no longer be automatically recognized in photos, and will no longer see suggested tags.

Article Link: Facebook Shuttering Facial Recognition System, Will Delete Data From Over a Billion Users

 

[ghostface147]

How about Facebook itself being a societal concern?

 

[WiseAJ]

Can we trust them to actually shut down and delete this facial data?

 

[DeftwillP]

Sure....yup, they're gonna "shut it down".

 

[IIGS User]

Facebook is evil, and I don't believe for one second they're saying they are deleting this information out of the kindness of their heart. They have a reason other than social responsibility.

I also believe beyond a doubt that back ups, secretly stuffed away someplace exists.

None of these companies is actually honest with their users about data privacy, or corporate governance, or social responsibility. None of them do anything for the end user.

You are the product, the shareholders are the ones that benefit. Every time.

Facebook ain't deleting nuthin'....

 

[8CoreWhore]

Might as well delete it... already handed over to govt.

 

[mrz_V1]

They could shutdown today and there will still be people out there complaining about it. I'm convinced the people that live and breathe to hate facebook are the ones logging in everyday posting about how much they hate it, following toxic people and pages, and then in turn telling everybody how bad the experience is. Google has an entire operating system for them to track your use and hardly anyone even mentions it.. Google is the OG of privacy invasion and they seem to get little coverage these days.

 

[Atlantico]

Big if true

 

[caliguy]

1. Rebrand
2. Create positive image
3. Launch revolutionary yet invasive new product
4. ???
5. Profit

We’re on step 2.

 

[Realityck]

People who opted in to Face Recognition will no longer be automatically recognized in photos and videos, and their facial recognition templates will be deleted.

According to Facebook VP of Artificial Intelligence Jerome Pesenti, Facebook is making this change because it needs to weigh the positive use cases for facial recognition against growing societal concerns" as regulators "have yet to provide clear rules."

Great that they are backing away from this.

 

[DinkThifferent]

One company could recognize every seventh person ON THIS PLANET.

Absolutely insane.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I don’t trust Facebook. Just leave it alone and don’t bother. They might end up collecting more data. Facebook is out there to fool the public.

 

[johnnytravels]

"Facebook Shuttering Facial Recognition System" only for us to find out in five years that prior to deleting everything they also sold all of its data off to another company.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

1. Rebrand
2. Create positive image
3. Launch revolutionary yet invasive new product
4. ???
5. Profit

We’re on step 2.

They went wrong with the name “Meta” should’ve named “Beta” instead.

 

[chrisdazzo]

Only use FB anymore to keep up with frands and use Marketplace to sell stuff. Wish they'd separate Marketplace from all of the rest. Deleting FB is soooo tempting.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

When have we ever heard Facebook shutting anything down? This is all talk. No actions.

 

[Derekuda]

They could shutdown today and there will still be people out there complaining about it. I'm convinced the people that live and breathe to hate facebook are the ones logging in everyday posting about how much they hate it, following toxic people and pages, and then in turn telling everybody how bad the experience is. Google has an entire operating system for them to track your use and hardly anyone even mentions it.. Google is the OG of privacy invasion and they seem to get little coverage these days.

You act as if apple is some saint. You are naive if you think apple doesn't track your stuff. What you buy in the app store, how much you spend on your apple card, how many times you ask siri to call your mom (because she just can't get the pronunciation correct). Apple loves to shove privacy marketing all over their ads with how they don't let "other" companies look at your data, but i guarantee that excludes themselves.

 

[NMBob]

Facebook is evil, and I don't believe for one second they're saying they are deleting this information out of the kindness of their heart. They have a reason other than social responsibility.

They already have a copy of your DNA, so they don't need a picture of your face.

 

[BuddyTronic]

Facebook is shutting down its Face Recognition system and will delete the facial data of more than 1 billion of its users, Facebook parent company Meta announced this morning.

People who opted in to Face Recognition will no longer be automatically recognized in photos and videos, and their facial recognition templates will be deleted.

According to Facebook VP of Artificial Intelligence Jerome Pesenti, Facebook is making this change because it needs to weigh the positive use cases for facial recognition against growing societal concerns" as regulators "have yet to provide clear rules."

Facial recognition has been available on Facebook since 2011, and at the time that it debuted, Facebook turned the feature on automatically for more than 500 million people. The option, called Tag Recognition at the time, was designed to recognize Facebook users in photos and videos posted by other users, tagging all of the people in the photo.

There were immediate privacy concerns with the launch of the feature, which have persisted to this day. Facebook in December 2017 introduced an expanded Face Recognition feature and with it, an opt-out option.

Facebook says that more than a third of Facebook's daily active users have facial recognition enabled, and the change required "careful consideration." It will disable an Automatic Alt Text feature for blind users that automatically provided the names of people in photos.

Though Face Recognition in its current incarnation is shutting down, Facebook will continue to work on facial recognition technologies.Face Recognition and the features that it enables will be officially removed "over the coming weeks." When disabled, people will no longer be automatically recognized in photos, and will no longer see suggested tags.

Article Link: Facebook Shuttering Facial Recognition System, Will Delete Data From Over a Billion Users

Yah - do it first and find out about the ethics and stuff later. As long as you can make a buck before society and governments clue in - it's fair game to make big bucks until they figure it out. /sarcasm

 

[MrTangent]

Can we trust them to actually shut down and delete this facial data?

They pinky-promised?

 

[MysticCow]

Can we trust them to actually shut down and delete this facial data?

Well....

Though Face Recognition in its current incarnation is shutting down, Facebook will continue to work on facial recognition technologies.

That would be a NOPE! It's still coming, just more insidious than the open attempt they made at facial recognition. And you have two choices--use it or stop using Facebook!

 

[Unsupported]

When have we ever heard Facebook shutting anything down?

Well, they shut down Mr. D. Trump because they didn't like him. They give people bans, known as being in Facebook jail for varying periods of time for posting comments they don't like.

Shall I continue?

 

[deeddawg]

Delete data?

Sure they will....

Anyone wanna buy some Arizona oceanfront property?

 

[4jasontv]

You act as if apple is some saint. You are naive if you think apple doesn't track your stuff. What you buy in the app store, how much you spend on your apple card, how many times you ask siri to call your mom (because she just can't get the pronunciation correct). Apple loves to shove privacy marketing all over their ads with how they don't let "other" companies look at your data, but i guarantee that excludes themselves.

I might be in the minority here but I believe there is a difference between using a customer's data to make your own products and services better vs treating people like products with constantly diminishing value. Facebook isn't bad because they collect data. They are bad because they sell it without any contemplation over who is paying for it. Had they become a universal login and discovery service the perception of their brand would be more like Apple's reputation. As it is I see them as very different companies.

 

[jz0309]

They went wrong with the name “Meta” should’ve named “Beta” instead.

View attachment 1900741

I really would have "liked" your post, but when I look at that image ... I wanna throw up