October 2012

The Federal Trade Commission released a staff report "Facing Facts: Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial Recognition Technologies" for the increasing number of companies using facial recognition technologies, to help them protect consumers’ privacy as they use the technologies to create innovative new commercial products and services.

The FTC staff report recommends that companies using facial recognition technologies:

• design their services with consumer privacy in mind;
• develop reasonable security protections for the information they collect, and sound methods for determining when to keep information and when to dispose of it;
• consider the sensitivity of information when developing their facial recognition products and services – for example, digital signs using facial recognition technologies should not be set up in places where children congregate.

The staff report also recommends that companies take steps to make sure consumers are aware of facial recognition technologies when they come in contact with them, and that they have a choice as to whether data about them is collected. So, for example, if a company is using digital signs to determine the demographic features of passersby, such as age or gender, they should provide clear notice to consumers that the technology is in use before consumers come into contact with the signs.

In the past year, leading technology companies have made big strides in bringing tablet computers into classrooms across the country. But while the availability of new devices is certainly critical, the successful transition to digital textbooks relies on many interconnected factors.

At their best, digital textbooks offer a learning experience that boosts engagement, adapts to student learning, tracks performance and ensures up-to-date content – all while potentially saving costs in the longterm. Beyond the initial technology costs of getting to a one-to-one student-to-tablet ratio (from the historic student-to-computer ratio of 3.75 to 1), Geoff Fletcher, deputy executive director for the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), said the current procurement processes for textbook content aren’t aligned with the dynamics of the digital world. “The business model right now doesn’t take advantage of the enormous flexibility because all the money is locked into one approach,” he said.

A new report from ABI Research says nearly 20% of online consumers consider online video as a replacement for monthly subscription TV services. The authors say this represents significant risk to the traditional TV operator business, which amounts to some $16.8 billion in the US.

Samsung Display said that it will terminate its contract with Apple and no longer supply liquid crystal display (LCD) panels to its longtime partner.

The news comes as speculation is mounting over a rift between the two firms that have shared a long relationship in electronic components. The display panel manufacturer plans to completely cut its years-long business ties with Apple as it believes its American partner is no longer a cash-generator due to the iPhone maker’s stiffer supply-chain management structure. Apple has been lowering its reliance on Samsung-manufactured displays for use in its popular i-branded devices as it is leveraging its influence to source components from Samsung’s rivals attracted by better pricing.