Google mulls face recognition technology

The introduction of ‘controversial’ face recognition technology is being debated at the highest levels of internet search engine Google in the wake of public criticism of its privacy policies, according to reports.

Chief executive Eric Schmidt told the Financial Times that executives are looking at all company procedures and new products in response to users' concerns about their personal information.

He added that any use of facial recognition by Google would be "highly, highly planned, discussed and reviewed".

The newspaper said that the technology, which is already used to help users find and tag people in the company's Picasa photo sharing platform, could become a "privacy flashpoint" because campaigners warn that it could be used to track strangers using just an image, raising concerns about stalking and identity fraud.

Google is already facing separate data protection investigations in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and the Czech Republic after it accidentally recorded information from unsecured Wi-Fi connections.

It is not the only internet company dealing with the thorny issue of online privacy.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, which has more than 400 million active account holders, wrote in the Washington Post that the site will redesign its personal information controls after users complained that they were too complicated.

Robin Gear, PA expert in innovation, says: "Privacy is an extremely delicate issue and getting it wrong, as Facebook has recently found out to their cost, can spark an immediate and potentially highly damaging backlash.

"A number of recent high-profile cases have demonstrated that people are extremely intolerant to having their personal information used without their explicit consent. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the speed of technological innovation generally outstrips the pace of legislation and guidelines to deal with its implications.

"The most important thing is that companies are completely transparent with their customers about their use of personal information. Ideally, people should be given the chance to 'opt in' to new ways of harnessing their personal data, rather than having to 'opt out'."

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