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Google Pledges To Hold Off On Selling Facial Recognition Technology (engadget.com)
In a blog post today, Google detailed how its facial recognition technology will and won't be used. Citing a number of risks associated with the technology, the company vowed to refrain from selling facial recognition products until it can come up with policies that prevent abuse. Engadget reports: "Like many technologies with multiple uses, facial recognition merits careful consideration to ensure its use is aligned with our principles and values, and avoids abuse and harmful outcomes," Google said. "We continue to work with many organizations to identify and address these challenges, and unlike some other companies, Google Cloud has chosen not to offer general-purpose facial recognition APIs before working through important technology and policy questions." "This is a strong first step," the ACLU's Nicole Ozer said in a statement about Google's announcement. "Google today demonstrated that, unlike other companies doubling down on efforts to put dangerous face surveillance technology into the hands of law enforcement and ICE, it has a moral compass and is willing to take action to protect its customers and communities. Google also made clear that all companies must stop ignoring the grave harms these surveillance technologies pose to immigrants and people of color, and to our freedom to live our lives, visit a church, or participate in a protest without being tracked by the government."
Kinda ironic that Google cares about our privacy...
Verify. Then trust.
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No doubt that's commendable, however the current leader in the face recognition competition/arms race sells their product to pretty much anyone, including the government of Russia. I've seen how it works and it gives you the shivers.
You may find youtube videos about their tech quite fascinating and scary.
So friggin' what. They once pledged to "Do no evil". They broke that, they'll break this. They are not to be trusted.
A technology only has to exist. Then it's just a matter of time before those who want it get their hands on it.
Same with encryption and encryption backdoors. If a backdoor is implemented, even if only for governement and law enforcement use, the backdoor will be cracked and used by criminals. If governement admits this and demands an uncrackable encryption without backdoor just for itself, again criminals and terrorists will get their hands on it and use it for themselves, making the backdoor useless to law enforcement.
In the end, only governements and criminals will have unbreakable encryption, and the backdoored encryption will be used only by ordinary honest citizens, to be spied on by their governement and victimized by criminals.
Google are essentially an advertising agency and so their "values" are flexible for the right price. Public statements like this are designed as leverage to increase the asking price for abusive practices and to keep their abusive clients quiet.
You know, until they can get it working in a way that doesn't cause them to make the news.