Giant social media company Facebook Inc. (FB) says that it will be shutting down its facial recognition system due to huge backlash and increasing concerns from the general public which has been questioning the use of this technology.
The facial recognition automatically identifies users in videos and pictures. The company’s vice president of artificial intelligence, Jerome Pesenti, says they have resolved to take down the facial recognition system as they give a ample time for regulators to set up laws governing its use.
“Regulators are still in the process of providing a clear set of rules governing its use. Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate,” said Pesenti.
Privacy advocacy and digital rights groups have also been against this initiative claiming that it abuses the rights of users’ personal data. This system was unveiled at a time when Facebook is facing a string of cases lined to abuse of users’ personal data.
The company didn’t rule out the possibility of using the facial recognition system in the future or in other products. Facebook said it still sees it as a powerful tool for identity verification.
