Right: Governments around the world are using, or considering the use of facial recognition to counter threats from terrorism and criminal activities. Recently, the technology has been deployed in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
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Background information
A facial recognition system is a technology capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source. There are multiple methods in which facial recognition systems work, but in general, they work by comparing selected facial features from given image with faces within a database. It is also described as a Biometric Artificial Intelligence based application that can uniquely identify a person by analyzing patterns based on the person's facial textures and shape.
While initially a form of computer application, it has seen wider uses in recent times on mobile platforms and in other forms of technology, such as robotics. It is typically used as access control in security systems and can be compared to other biometrics such as fingerprint or eye iris recognition systems.[2] Although the accuracy of facial recognition system as a biometric technology is lower than iris recognition and fingerprint recognition, it is widely adopted due to its contactless and non-invasive process.[3] Recently, it has also become popular as a commercial identification and marketing tool.[4] Other applications include advanced human-computer interaction, video surveillance, automatic indexing of images, and video database, among others.
Some current applications of facial recognition technology
The Commonwealth
The Australian Border Force and New Zealand Customs Service have set up an automated border processing system called SmartGate that uses face recognition, which compares the face of the traveller with the data in the e-passport microchip. All Canadian international airports use facial recognition as part of the Primary Inspection Kiosk program that compares a traveler face to their photo stored on the ePassport. This program first came to Vancouver International Airport in early 2017 and was rolled up to all remaining international airports in 2018-2019. The Tocumen International Airport in Panama operates an airport-wide surveillance system using hundreds of live face recognition cameras to identify wanted individuals passing through the airport.
Police forces in the United Kingdom have been trialling live facial recognition technology at public events since 2015. However, a recent report and investigation by Big Brother Watch found that these systems were up to 98 percent inaccurate.
In May 2017, a man was arrested using an automatic facial recognition (AFR) system mounted on a van operated by the South Wales Police. Ars Technica reported that "this appears to be the first time [AFR] has led to an arrest".
Live facial recognition has been trialled since 2016 in the streets of London. It will be used on a regular basis from Metropolitan Police from beginning of 2020.
United States
The U.S. Department of State operates one of the largest face recognition systems in the world with a database of 117 million American adults, with photos typically drawn from driver's license photos. Although it is still far from completion, it is being put to use in certain cities to give clues as to who was in the photo. The FBI uses the photos as an investigative tool, not for positive identification. As of 2016, facial recognition was being used to identify people in photos taken by police in San Diego and Los Angeles (not on real-time video, and only against booking photos) and use was planned in West Virginia and Dallas.
In recent years Maryland has used face recognition by comparing people's faces to their driver's license photos. The system drew controversy when it was used in Baltimore to arrest unruly protesters after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Many other states are using or developing a similar system however some states have laws prohibiting its use.
The FBI has also instituted its Next Generation Identification program to include face recognition, as well as more traditional biometrics like fingerprints and iris scans, which can pull from both criminal and civil databases. The federal General Accountability Office criticized the FBI for not addressing various concerns related to privacy and accuracy.
In 2019, researchers reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses facial recognition software against state driver's license databases, including for some states that provide licenses to undocumented immigrants.
China
As of late 2017, China has deployed facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology in Xinjiang. Reporters visiting the region found surveillance cameras installed every hundred meters or so in several cities, as well as facial recognition checkpoints at areas like gas stations, shopping centers, and mosque entrances. In 2020, China provided a grant to develop facial recognition technology to identify people wearing surgical or dust masks by matching solely to eyes and foreheads.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands has deployed facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology since 2016. The database of the Dutch police currently contains over 2.2 million pictures of 1.3 million Dutch citizens. This accounts for about 8 percent of the population. Hundreds of cameras have been deployed in the city of Amsterdam alone.
Attempts to extend the application of facial recognition technology in Australia
The Morrison government has sought to introduce laws which would allow Home Affairs to maintain centralised databases of facial images from government-issued documents (for example, passports and driver's licences) and other identity markers such as address and birthplace.
The Home Affairs department would then be able to use and transmit this information to perform a range of "identity-matching services" for other government agencies and non-government contractors.
The most general of these functions is identifying an unknown person by cross-referencing their image (say, from a CCTV screenshot) against the pictures in the database. But there are also more specialised services such as facial recognition to detect whether a person has multiple driver's licences.
The scope of activities for which the department could authorise the use of identity-matching services is expansive. Besides national security and law enforcement, it encompasses "community safety" and "road safety" activities, as well as "verifying identity".