Facebook facial recognition breaks EU law – regulator - Information Age
Facebook's use of facial recognition software break EU privacy laws because it collects biometric data without user consent, according to the state of Hamburg's data protection regulator The site uses facial recognition software to identify people in uploaded photographs and make suggestions for name tags to be associated with those photos. The office of the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HmbBfDI) has argued that this function requires a comprehensive database containing the biometric characteristics for every user. As it operates on an opt-out basis, Facebook does not have explicit consent to collect this data, it said. "Facebook has introduced this function in Europe without informing users and acquiring the necessary consent. Unambiguous consent from those affected is required by the European as well as the German data protection law," the regulator said in a statement. The HmbBfDI said that Facebook has not complied with its demands to bring their automatic face recog
11 Nov 2011 ... Facebook's use of facial recognition software break EU privacy laws because it collects biometric data without user consent, according to the ...