FB pixel

Surveillance skeptic nominated to U.S. Federal Trade Commission

Surveillance skeptic nominated to U.S. Federal Trade Commission
 

The White House wants to draw a harder line on what is appropriate use of biometric surveillance.

For his nomination to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), President Joe Biden has chosen a well-known skeptic of the indiscriminate use of facial recognition systems by businesses and government agencies.

The move will buy the president some goodwill with progressives within the Democratic Party who want more assertive leadership in civil rights, which they feel include protection from prying corporate eyes.

Alvaro Bedoya, founder of Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology, faces months of waiting, politicking and, presumably, grilling in the U.S. Senate before he can be confirmed. The Peru native was the first chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary’s subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law.

As noted by The Washington Post, Bedoya has earned the respect of conservatives and liberals on Capitol Hill. He has been described as intelligent and deliberative by Noah Phillips, an FTC commissioner nominated by the previous administration.

If confirmed, Bedoya likely will become an unwilling participant in straw-man arguments holding large technology companies as a source of discontent in U.S. society.

The Post frames the nomination as a proposed “check on Big Tech.” But the story, like others, chronicles Bedoya’s thoughts on holding the line on personal privacy, on holding those wielding face biometrics for surveillance in check without tilting at the industry or specific companies.

While not as aggressive as some would like the FTC’s stance to be, the agency has not been idle.

In January, Paravision settled allegations before the commission that in its previous incarnation as Everalbum, maker of the Ever photo app, it deceived consumers. The Ever service, part of Everalbum’s product line, was updated in 2017 to use facial recognition on group photos, allegedly making face scanning the default setting.

The ruling ordered Paravision to delete its algorithms “enhanced by any improperly obtained photos,” which the company says had already been retired.

Commissioner Rohit Chopra at the time issued a statement condemning facial recognition surveillance techniques as “discriminatory and dangerous.”

Chopra would be replaced by Bedoya if Chopra’s nomination to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is confirmed in the Senate.

Article Topics

 |   |   |   |   | 

Latest Biometrics News

 

One Login 18 steps short of complying with UK national cybersecurity framework

Gov.uk One Login is struggling to satisfy the cybersecurity expectations the Government Digital Service says it is underpinned by, a…

 

CBP seeks biometric photo capture technology for border vehicle inspection

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on commercial solutions for capturing high-quality facial…

 

Rights concerns trigger facial recognition reviews in Paraguay, Balkans and Hungary

Facial recognition is being used more around the world but with this increased usage comes concerns over issues such as…

 

Beruku showcases security document features for Ukraine border guard

Experts from Beruku Identity made a presentation to officers of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, to outline security features embedded…

 

Persona reaches $2 billion valuation with new investment round

Persona has announced a $200 million Series D funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to $2 billion. A release from…

 

Sri Lanka to call tenders for MOSIP implementation

Tenders for implementation of MOSIP (Modular Open-Source Identity Platform), an open-source software system that will be used to create and…

Comments

Leave a Reply

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

Market Analysis

Most Viewed This Week

Featured Company

Biometrics Insight, Opinion

Digital ID In-Depth

Biometrics White Papers

Biometrics Events