Development or dystopia? An introduction to the accountability challenges of data processing by Facia Recognition Technology

摘要

The omnipresent character of FRT along with the state of the art technology renders this time in history as the 'Era of Facial Recognition'. However, the resultant legal challenges and suggested solutions for FRT (some of them presented in the second part of this article) need, as demonstrated, further discussion. Moreover, these challenges should not be underestimated since, as we have explained, they affect realms as relevant as health or law enforcement, where the rights of individuals would be at high stake. For instance, the lack of a more consistent definition of FRT only increases the layers of obscurity about the real scope of the technology. Furthermore, it is very difficult to assess accountability if the real processes behind FRT, or the actual role played by programmers or providers, are poorly understood. Still, to avoid extreme solutions and scenarios, such as the ones analysed within the last section of this work, accountability mechanisms should be put in place. These mechanisms would discourage FRT designs and deployments that do not properly tackle the abovementioned challenges and, when unavoidable, they will facilitate legal redress for the affected subjects.