Franken plans hearing on facial recognition technology

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, announced a hearing on Wednesday to examine the privacy implications of facial recognition technology.

The hearing, titled “What Facial Recognition Technology Means for Privacy and Civil Liberties,” is scheduled for next Wednesday, July 18.

In a statement announcing the hearing, Franken noted that facial recognition technology is now used by police, social networks and Departments of Motor Vehicles around the country, meaning that many people are already part of a facial recognition database.

"The dimensions of our faces are as unique to us as our fingerprints," Franken said. "And right now technology exists that gives the government and companies the ability to figure out your name and other personal information about you with nothing more than a photograph. I'm holding a hearing in my subcommittee to find out what this new technology means for our privacy and if our current laws are doing enough to protect Americans."

Facebook, for example, uses software to suggest friends to tag in the photos its users upload. The technology can also be used to verify a person's identity or to scan crowds for suspected terrorists or criminals.

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