04 Aug Germany’s Facial Recognition System Sparks Privacy Concerns
Berlin, Germany – According to a report on Thursday, facial scanning cameras have been installed by German authorities in Berlin’s railway station last week. The system is currently being tested to help monitor and capture terrorists in light of the recent attacks.
The move certainly raised privacy issues, involving possible abuse in surveillance. Facial recognition technology uses two main features, first is facial analysis, and second is identification which traces images to identities of millions of people on the internet.
Facial recognition is not new and is widely being used in networking platforms like Facebook and Google.
The technology is a powerful surveillance tool that must be utilized accordingly, making authorities and developers responsible for its deployment. It also questions how much information authorities are allowed to gather, given that the cameras can track citizen’s every move in public.
To date, German officials state that that cameras are merely experimental, assuring citizens that the recorded footage will be disposed.
Source: The Irish Times
