Facebook fights for sweeping new facial recognition powers sparking fears of Big Brother-style intrusion
The social media giant is working on new powers that would put names on faces even if they are obscured
FACEBOOK is fighting to have sweeping powers on facial recognition - including tech that would identify people based on their clothing and posture.
The social media giant is working on new powers that would put names on faces even if they are obscured and has already filed patents allowing them to tailor ads based on facial expressions.
But their plans have sparked fears that users will be subjected to Big Brother-style intrusion watching their every move.
Facial recognition expert Joseph Atick said: "When we invented face recognition, there was no database.
";Facebook has a system that could recognise the entire population of the Earth.”
The company hasn't made clear what they plan to do with the database but according to , it has been lobbying the federal government for years to protect its investment in the technology.
One of the technologies they are working on is how to use people's pictures to sell them products based on the information provided.
The paper reports that for example, if a user posts a photo of them hiking, it can use that information to place ads for hiking equipment on their Facebook page.
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Mr Atick, who helped develop facial recognition in the 1990s, is now concerned companies will use the technology to identify people in a public place without their knowledge.
He said: "I can no longer count on being an anonymous person when I’m walking down the street."
It comes after Facebook applied for a patent to capture pictures of a user through their smartphone to analyse their facial expressions.
Patent documents contained illustrations showing a person holding a smartphone with a camera taking a picture from which “emotion characteristics” like smiling or frowning are detected.
If the person appears to like what they’re seeing, Facebook could place more of the same type of content in front of them.
If you want to check what Facebook sees and shares about you, check out its .