[Infowarrior] - Fwd: why not to use Facebook or a camera

[Richard Forno]

--
It's better to burn out than fade away.

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: dan
> 
> http://www.techspot.com/news/64857-nightmare-russian-facial-recognition-app-one-step-closer.html
> 
> Nightmare Russian facial recognition app is one step closer to the
> end of privacy
> 
>   By Rob Thubron on May 17, 2016, 12:00 PM
> 
>   While facial recognition technology has a number of positive
>   uses, such as finding missing people, an alternative form of ID,
>   and even tagging friends on Facebook, it does have worrying
>   implications when it comes to privacy.
> 
>   In Russia, a new face recognition app is becoming so popular
>   that it could result in the end of public anonymity, according
>   to a report in The Guardian.
> 
>   FindFace, which launched two months ago, lets users take a photo
>   of a crowd and work out individuals' identities with 70 percent
>   reliability. It does this by using image recognition technology
>   to compare faces against profile pictures on Vkontakte, a
>   Facebook-style social media site that has 200 million users.
> 
>   The app already boasts 500,000 users and has performed nearly 3
>   million searches. Though currently limited to Russia, the app's
>   creators, Artem Kukharenko and Alexander Kabakov, imagine a world
>   where the app is used by everyone to examine strangers' social
>   network profiles just by taking a photo of them on the street.
> 
>   Kabakov has suggested that the app could have applications when
>   it comes to 'dating'. "If you see someone you like, you can
>   photograph them, find their identity, and then send them a friend
>   request," he said. "It also looks for similar people. So you
>   could just upload a photo of a movie star you like, or your ex,
>   and then find 10 girls who look similar to her and send them
>   messages." It sounds like creepy stalkers everywhere will soon
>   have a reason to rejoice.
> 
>   Other than tracking down Scarlett Johansson lookalikes and
>   harassing random women you find attractive, the app's already
>   found other uses.  The creators are about to sign a deal with
>   the Moscow city government to implement the technology into
>   150,000 CCTV cameras. Should a crime be committed, the faces of
>   everyone in the area will be checked against photos from various
>   records, including social media sites, to determine if they're
>   a possible suspect.
> 
>   FindFace's Orwellian nightmare scenario is already rearing its
>   head.  Recently, the app was used to find the profiles of Russian
>   sex workers and porn actresses so trolls could harass them and
>   send messages to their friends and families. And the fact it's
>   so popular in Russia, a country not known for respecting the
>   privacy rights of its citizens, is a big concern.
> 
>   Kabakov also envisions the technology being used in the retail
>   sector.  He talks about a shop CCTV camera capturing a person
>   looking at a product, such as a laptop, and then the retailer
>   identifying the individual and bombarding them with adverts for
>   laptops - probably until they go out and buy one.
> 
>   As for the big question of whether the app can access Facebook's
>   image database: no, it can't. Not right now, at least. The
>   creators say the US site stores photos in a way that is harder
>   to access than Vkontakte, so lets hope things stay this way.
> 
>   In addressing people's privacy fears, Kabakov goes with the `it's
>   just the way things are, so get used to it' argument: "In today's
>   world we are surrounded by gadgets. Our phones, televisions,
>   fridges, everything around us is sending real-time information
>   about us. Already we have full data on people's movements, their
>   interests and so on. A person should understand that in the
>   modern world he is under the spotlight of technology. You just
>   have to live with that."
> 
>   To discover more about FindFace, check out the video below, which
>   somehow manages to be as sinister as the app itself.
> 
>   https://www.youtube.com/embed/VZnWnbFUJqQ
> 
>