Facial recognition technology is spreading, and so are privacy concerns

[Commentary] Being anonymous in public might be a thing of the past. Facial recognition technology is already being deployed to let brick-and-mortar stores scan the face of every shopper, identify returning customers and offer them individualized pricing -- or find "pre-identified shoplifters" and "known litigious individuals." Microsoft has patented a billboard that identifies you as you walk by and serves ads personalized to your purchase history. An app called NameTag contends it can identify people on the street just by looking at them through Google Glass. There are no federal laws that specifically govern the use of facial recognition technology. But both Illinois and Texas have laws against using such technology to identify people without their informed consent.

The Illinois law is facing the most public test to date of what its protections mean for facial recognition technology. A lawsuit filed in Illinois trial court in April alleges Facebook violates the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act by taking users' faceprints "without even informing its users -- let alone obtaining their informed written consent." This suit, Licata vs. Facebook, could reshape Facebook's practices and may even influence the expansion of facial recognition technology. If the court finds that Facebook can be sued for violating the Illinois biometrics law, and that its opt-out consent framework for Tag Suggestions violated the law, it may upend the practices of one of the world's largest Internet companies, one that is possibly the single largest user of commercial facial recognition technology. And if the lawsuit fails for one reason or another, it would emphasize that regulation of facial recognition needs to take place on a federal level if it is to happen at all. Either way, there's a chance this lawsuit will end up shaping the future of facial recognition technology.

[Ben Sobel is a researcher and incoming Google Policy Fellow at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law]