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Facebook Silently Enables Facial Recognition Abilities For Users Outside EU, Canada (neowin.net)
Facebook is now informing users around the world that it's rolling out facial recognition features. Users in the European Union and Canada will not be notified because laws restrict this type of activity in those areas. Neowin reports: With the new tools, you'll be able to find photos that you're in but haven't been tagged in; they'll help you protect yourself against strangers using your photo; and Facebook will be able to tell people with visual impairments who's in their photos and videos. By default, Facebook warns that this feature is enabled but can be switched off at any time; additionally, the firm says it may add new capabilities at any time. In its initial statement, Facebook said the following about the impersonation protections it was introducing: "We want people to feel confident when they post pictures of themselves on Facebook so we'll soon begin using face recognition technology to let people know when someone else uploads a photo of them as their profile picture. We're doing this to prevent people from impersonating others on Facebook."
How is telling you they're doing it and telling you how to turn it off 'silently enabling' it?
I got a clear message about this when I logged in
Facebook used to be a digital Rolodex of aggravating people you'd rather send an occasional birthday card than speak to in person, but in the last 7 years it's shaping up to become new societal piss-test for everything from dating to employment. Now you can look forward to not only being ostracized for your lack of facebook participation, but actively chastised for it when facebook identifies you as a friend/coworker/acquaintance in someone elses account.
with facebooks mandatory facial recognition it soon wont matter if you avoid the site at all, theyll just build and publish a profile of you anyway.
Good people go to bed earlier.
I am in the US. Message told me the feature was available. It was off by default. It told me how to enable it if I wanted it.
--- Liberty in our Lifetime
I got the message yesterday.
It's ON and they say you can go to settings to turn it OFF.
I had to turn it off, it was enabled by default for me (and I made a post bitching about having to turn it off immediately after, which means I have backing proof) so, no.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
they'll help you protect yourself against strangers using your photo
I don't like facial recognition. But I do like stopping people from using photos of me. It sure is nice of facebook...to offer to protect us...from facebook. All they need in return is a little more intrusion. Well played facebook. Well played. Even shifted the blame to other users.
Outside of EU, Facebook looks at YOU!
The feature is disabled by default. Users must opt in for facial recognition to be turned on.
And if you believe that, I have a few bridges to sell you. This garbage is always on, always enabled. You only opting to not see it. It's still there. All our faces are stored in their databases. I've never uploaded a picture of myself to Facebook, EVER, and it still fucking has my face, when others have uploaded pictures with me in them, it knows who I am. Even when closed my account, in 2009, it still knows and attaches the id to the face, should anyone upload something with me in it.
Even more disturbing, when I reopened an account under a pseudoname to participate in a contest on Second Life, it pretty quickly figured out who I am, and started recommending I friend all the people I used to have as friends. Super creepy.
My solution? I let my mother use my account to play farmville and accumulate a bunch of nonsense friends to muddy the waters. I don't even use the account anymore, haven't in years.
Here in Brazil the thing rolled out but off as default, much like it was reported in US.
I wonder what Facebook is taking in consideration to make it off or on by default.
I'd think that in EU it'd be the last place on Earth that Facebook would force something related to privacy erosion as on by default, but we'll see how that goes for them. If they end up sued, it's their own fault.
Mr Coward seems to be forgetting that the world extends slightly beyond the peripheries of the northern Atlantic.
I'm in Brazil at the moment, and got a message from Facebook today telling me it was on by default. Although as I'm actually European, it makes me wonder how Facebook decides which locale's rules to apply to my profile. Does it automatically opt you in to everything it can as soon as you login from a location with weaker protections?
Most likely enabled or disabled based on other settings. I mean, it's software. When you add new switches, you set their default state to whatever makes the most sense based on the state of other settings.
"Old man yells at systemd"
when others have uploaded pictures with me in them, it knows who I am.
Because they tag you, you poor dingbat.
"Old man yells at systemd"
Look, you live in a third world country if you're in the USA.
Adapt.
They are watching you. Everywhere.
And is it ok if I have that choco bar you forgot?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --