To the average person, facial recognition technology appears to be a relatively new invention with a harmless presence in our daily lives. The technology can be used for casual tasks, such as helping to organize photos or unlock one’s phone without having to type in a password. However, the power and potential of facial recognition technology should not be underestimated. When applied to more advanced uses, the capabilities of facial recognition software are shockingly developed. In the past decade, development of the technology has reached a point where computer accuracy sometimes exceeds that of a human in tests of identification. Government organizations and private corporations have formed extremely sophisticated databases and algorithms over the past two decades that expand the potential of facial recognition technology to that of an all-seeing-eye. One of the main goals driving facial recognition software research is its use in criminal investigations, which is similar today to what we often see in fictionalized crime television shows. In military and industrial security applications, biometric data, such as facial identification blueprints, retina scans, and fingerprints, is used to access extremely important and sensitive information and equipment. Additionally, beyond our normal interactions with facial recognition technology, software constantly collects images of faces and other personal information to be stored in secret databases. Despite usually not using personal information for any sinister purpose, companies like Facebook consistently collects and stores data from its users that can be later sold to other companies that use the data to develop key advertising strategies. Automated facial recognition technology may be one of the most important new technologies currently used and developed in government and commercial applications. The technology presents enormous potential in security and investigation; however, widespread implementation of facial recognition software may also jeopardize privacy. 

Facial recognition technology has immense potential in the fields of security, surveillance, and investigation. Social media databases can be used in combination with official government databases to further enhance the resources available to investigative organizations. Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency collectively have access to photographs of the faces of millions of people; they can confirm identities with machine accuracy exceeding the abilities of the human eye and track down people through traces left electronically. It is not implemented on a large scale in the United States yet, but facial recognition software can now easily be incorporated into CCTV surveillance cameras. Some private companies and banks have implemented high tech biometric identification technology, such as facial and fingerprint scanners. If used responsibly, the widespread implementation of facial recognition software could produce a new age of safety and security. Border control would require less manpower, and law enforcement agencies would be able to track down criminals with ease. However, an ideal society with constant security would require constant surveillance; this would ultimately lead to a panoptic dystopia where citizens would live in a paranoid state without their essential rights to free speech and privacy. 

It is surprising how advanced facial recognition technology has become in recent years, and one would be shocked by how much facial recognition data is already stored and used. Tim Ring, a journalist at Biometric Technology Today, strongly argues that widespread implementation of facial recognition software poses a serious threat to privacy as a whole. He begins his argument by criticizing other biometric identification technology: “high-tech Epicenter offices in Sweden where staff have agreed to have ID microchips embedded in their hands,  instead of swipe cards when entering the offices” (7). He considers the advance in technology too rapid of a change. Ring also provides another example of the potential for abuse of biometric identification technology, citing the United States databases of fingerprints, photographs, and other personal information. Discussing the invasive nature of facial recognition technology, Ring mentions: “the FBI's national NGI-IPS (Next Generation Identification-Interstate Photo System) database already holding over 30m photos of nearly 17m people. NGI, developed over many years” (8). 

One of the most disturbing current implementations of facial recognition technology is through the Russian application, FindFace, which is a company responsible for one of the most accurate and sophisticated facial recognition algorithms in the world. FindFace features various ways for its customers to use the facial recognition algorithm, including identity verification, detection of emotion, and most shockingly the location of strangers through use of the application. The company initially appears to only have uses in security for businesses, such as banks and casinos, but Findface can be used for disturbingly effective stalking. Ring cites an article from splinternews.com, detailing the story of a man who conducted an experiment with the application in Russia. Without obtaining any information on them beforehand, he photographed two women on a crowded public street, and by using the application, he effectively found their facebook accounts along with information about their recent locations. Ring concludes by discussing the complicated balance required between privacy and security. He cites Sara Sembhi, CTO of the Nord Group and former security organization executive: “As someone who believes in privacy I would say Governments need to get it right before they use this technology. However, as someone who cares about the state of security, anti-terrorism and so on, I understand that some of what they do, they do have to do in a live environment, otherwise it’ll never get better” (quoted in Ring 10). 

The complete lack of specific laws and regulations surrounding the implementation of facial recognition technology allows for an enormous possibility of organizations and individuals abusing the technology and invading privacy. This problem exists in both private companies and government organizations. In an article published by the Arizona Law Review, Sabrina Lochner takes a serious look at the police force’s implementation of a facial recognition software called MORIS. It is unclear to what degree the police are allowed to use the technology in surveillance and investigations. The main idea of Lochner’s article is that the potential danger of facial recognition technology used by the police currently comes from its lack of rules and regulations. The article references policies regarding other types of personal information such as fingerprints and DNA samples, and the author uses these policies to reflect on the legality of facial recognition technology, but ultimately the police are technically allowed to abuse this powerful technology. New legislation needs to be created to prevent organizations from invading privacy due to the lack of specificity. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) itself, which helps regulate the actions of the United States government, held a session in 2015 to discuss the potential abuse of facial recognition technology. Their main concern was that without specific rules and regulations, cases involving facial recognition technology would lack clarity and be based on other rules that are designed around other forms of surveillance and investigation. 

The advancement and widespread implementation of facial recognition technology requires legislation to be developed immediately to regulate the technology’s use in governmental applications. The lack of regulation could allow for some surprisingly intrusive government presence in our lives. In China facial recognition software has been incorporated into some surprising public facilities. The new public surveillance equipment in China is a prime example of governments abusing facial recognition technology to invade the privacy of their citizens. Public restrooms and other public facilities are used more often in China than in the United States. Many public restrooms rely on people to bring their own toilet paper, but at certain locations there are machines designed to dispense toilet paper. These machines strangely feature facial scanners that are intended to prevent thieves from looting massive amounts of toilet paper, but their design has backfired. Many citizens complain about how intrusive the camera feels along with other flaws. For example, the dispenser will not serve any additional toilet paper to a user for nine unpleasant minutes if they require more toilet paper than the first ration (Travis). 

The GAO states that most stakeholders in private companies also currently have the dangerous potential to abuse the technology. The electronic book published by the GAO pinpoints the most important obstacle in regulating the use of the technology: “The United States does not have a comprehensive privacy law governing the collection, use, and sale of personal information by private-sector companies” (28). This detail is important because some stakeholders could benefit from the abuse of facial recognition technology through the sale of people’s personal information. Because of the lack of specificity in laws regarding facial recognition technology, private companies could technically get away with selling facial identification data to advertising agencies and other companies that seek out ways to reach out to their customer base.  

The line between the online world and the real world can sometimes become blurry. Are our online actions a true representation of ourselves? The internet exists as one of the densest, most complex things that has ever been developed by mankind. One can research anything and find the answer to almost any question; and it allows exploration of their interests mostly without regulation. Some people believe that the most important part of the internet is anonymity. This goes into arguments regarding net neutrality and web privacy. On the internet, especially in other countries in which citizens lack the right of free speech, one can express themselves safely from the comfort of their own home. In places with oppressive regimes, citizens completely lack a voice outside of the internet; their only means of assembly and resistance is through the internet. However, in some countries governments have recently begun cracking down on citizens suspected to be political dissenters. 

Facebook is one of the largest threats to privacy on the face of the earth. This may sound bold to hear as an American, but other countries experience far more surveillance on social media. The company itself does not appear to have malicious intent, but it enables both organizations and individuals to invade the privacy of innocent people. It acts an open place to express opinions, and people can face serious consequences for what they say online. Pakistan currently has one of the most strict and intrusive governments in the world. In June 2017, a man named Taimoor Raza was sentenced to death for blasphemy because of his posts on Facebook. He was found guilty of insulting the prophet Mohammed while communicating with a counter-terrorism government official on Facebook (Rasmussen). Facebook served as an identity database that allowed the Pakistani government to swiftly punish Taimoor Raza in an extremely cruel and unjustified way. 

Many Americans have either forgotten or stopped caring, but the United States government was also discovered to be spying on its own innocent citizens in 2013. The National Security Agency was exposed in 2013 when Edward Snowden began revealing his former employer’s secrets. The NSA had intercepted hundreds of millions of messages and phone calls and created a database of over 50,000 photographs of faces that could be used alongside facial recognition technology to spy on citizens (Poitras). Snowden was declared a traitor to the United States by the Department of Defense, but some people consider him a hero and true patriot. After working for the Central Intelligence and NSA for multiple years, Snowden decided that the privacy of the American people was more important than his own safety and committed one of the most important leaks in history. This event was a wake up call for many Americans who realized that many of their personal devices served as tools of observation for unseen government eyes. 

Ultimately, we must ask ourselves if allowing our government and corporations to freely use facial recognition technology is worth the security and other benefits that may provide. With increased security always comes decreased privacy, so we must assess how much facial recognition technology should be implemented into our society. The privacy debate surrounding facial recognition technology could be compared to the controversy to self-driving cars; both technologies are so advanced that we as a society are so concerned with whether or not we can develop it, we fail to ask if we should. After researching the topic of facial recognition technology and seeing the multitude of perspectives and data related to it, I am hesitant to be unwillingly observed by unseen forces. As Americans we are all too often reminded that people in our own government intrude on our privacy and bypass our rights. With the wrong people leading organizations that control facial recognition databases, we could be subject to abuse, such as wrongful searches and racial profiling. We also face a potentially greater threat in the commercial use of facial recognition technology, which could enable menacingly effective stalking. Congress needs to produce legislation that regulates the implementation of facial recognition software before organizations and individuals continue to abuse the technology to threaten privacy as a whole. 
