Facebook Inc, now rebranded Meta Platforms Inc FB, would shutter its facial recognition system and delete data collected from 1 billion users, citing growing regulatory scrutiny of the field.
What Happened:
Facebook used the data to identify users in photos posted on the platform. Facebook would delete the face scan data of the users, a third of its total daily active user base. It would end features that allow users to get automatically notified about their presence in photos or videos posted by others on the platform and suggest whom to tag in photos and videos.
"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," Facebook reasoned. "Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate."
Facebook would continue to use facial recognition technology for verifying identities and unlocking accounts.
Facebook emphasized storing emerging technology, allowing facial recognition data on smartphones or laptops instead of centralized databases. The facial recognition technology could be vital to Facebook's metaverse ambitions, Financial Times reports.
Related Content: Facebook Rebrands As Meta: What Investors Should Know About New Name, Ticker And Vision
Why It Matters: In 2019, Microsoft Corp MSFT deleted its database of 10 million faces known as MS Celeb. The technical limitations of facial recognition systems drove protests in Europe, Britain, and the U.S., with a temporary banning in Oakland, California.
In 2020, Amazon.com Inc AMZN, Microsoft, and International Business Machines Corp IBM promised to abstain from selling their facial recognition technology to police forces pending more transparent federal legislation.
Price Action: FB shares traded lower by 0.09% at $327.77 in the premarket session on the last check Wednesday.
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