FB pixel

U.S. Senator raises privacy and security concerns about Apple’s Face ID

 

U.S. Senator Al Franken has raised concerns regarding the privacy and security of Apple’s Face ID feature in its upcoming iPhone X smartphone, according to a report by Engadget.

Franken recently penned a letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook, containing several questions concerning the technology’s “eventual uses that may not be contemplated by” its customers.

Apple stated during its keynote that Face ID information will be saved only be saved on the device itself.

However, Senator Franken has asked Apple whether it is possible for the company or a third party to access and save the biometric data either remotely or through physical access to a user’s iPhone.

Franken asked Apple to detail all the security measures it has implemented to ensure that Face ID cannot be fooled by masks and photographs.

He also inquired about where Apple found the one billion face images it used to train the Face ID algorithm, and asked for assurance that Apple won’t use the faceprints of its users for other purposes.

But perhaps most crucial, Franken asked the company to disclose what it plans to do in the event that law enforcement requests Face ID data.

Aside from asking questions about security, Franken asked Apple to detail the measures it took to ensure that “its system was trained on a diverse set of faces, in terms of race, gender and age.”

Franken has asked Apple to respond to his questions by October 13th, although it remains to be seen whether Apple will even choose to reply to the letter.

Previously reported, in choosing to replace its existing Touch ID fingerprint authentication with the new Face ID facial recognition feature for the upcoming iPhone X, Apple decided to gamble on a strategy that would force companies that support Touch ID in their apps to move to Face ID.

Article Topics

 |   |   |   | 

Latest Biometrics News

 

World Economic Forum looks to get a GRIP on global regulatory environment

A new piece written by the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s head of digital inclusion, Kelly Ommundsen, looks at the gap…

 

Respected legal authority frames age assurance legislation as segregation, suppression

Language plays a fundamental role in how concepts and technologies are introduced into and evolve alongside society. The debate over…

 

New high scores in fingerprint biometrics accuracy for Dermalog, ROC, Innovatrics

New algorithms submitted to the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology for its Proprietary Fingerprint Template (PFT) Evaluation have…

 

Australia’s safety code for search tools takes effect, with age verification rules

Like its counterparts in the EU and UK, Australia’s digital regulator is beginning to formalize its online safety codes. The…

 

Age verification coming to major video game mod site in EU, UK

Want to make sweet love to that frost giant who lives in the fjord? You may have to prove your…

 

Ecuador upgrades border ID verification with Regula forensic devices

Ecuador is upgrading its border identity verification systems by deploying a range of Regula’s ID document examination devices. The deployment…

Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Biometric Market Analysis

Most Viewed This Week

Featured Company

Biometrics Insight, Opinion

Digital ID In-Depth

Biometrics White Papers

Biometrics Events