Face-blurring video tools gain ground with Pimloc deal, decision on US Capitol rioters

Blurring faces in video is a growing business opportunity as more video analytics companies want to help clients stay compliant with privacy laws.

One of these companies is Pimloc, which has just clinched a new deal to provide its face-blurring technology to risk advisory company Argenbright Security Europe Limited (ASEL).

The UK-based company will provide ASEL with its Secure Redact video privacy platform that automatically blurs personal and sensitive data in captured and live security video. The deal is significant as the risk advisory practice develops security solutions for a range of clients in retail, hospitality, logistics, and manufacturing. In a release, CEO of ASEL Jason Trigg said that Pimloc’s product will be used by clients in Europe where GDPR rules over privacy issues.

“As the landscape of video analytics grows and evolves, so too does the imperative for diligent visual data protection,” says Trigg. “We have been witnessing a strong demand for this from our customers, and this partnership ensures that we are at the forefront, offering our clientele the best in both security and compliance.”

Pimloc claims its automated bulk and scalable video redaction is over 280 times faster than traditional methods. This year, it sealed a deal with body-camera provider m-View Live Video to ensure compliance with Australia’s privacy laws and integrated Secure Redact into Rhombus video management systems (VMS).

Republicans will blur faces from US Capitol riot footage

Compliance with privacy laws is not the only reason why face-blurring technology is gaining ground.

On Tuesday, Republican Member of Congress and House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Republicans are blurring faces in security footage from inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, which they plan to release soon. The recordings were previously available only to criminal defendants and reporters by request, the Huffington Post reports.

“We have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ,” Johnson said at a news conference.

A spokesperson for Johnson later said that blurring faces would prevent retaliation against private citizens from any non-governmental actors.

U.S. authorities have already used the footage in some of the 1,200 criminal cases brought against the rioters who stormed the Capitol in support of former President Donald Trump. Members of the public, however, have been using the footage to track down suspects with the help of facial recognition software and social media.

Article Topics

anonymization  |  biometrics  |  Pimloc  |  redaction  |  video analytics  |  video surveillance