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Privacy Protection and Face Recognition

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Handbook of Face Recognition

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe the privacy issues surrounding the proliferation of digital imagery, particularly of faces, in surveillance video, online photo-sharing, medical records and online navigable street imagery. We highlight the growing capacity for computer systems to process, recognize, and index face images and outline some of the techniques that have been used to protect privacy while supporting ongoing innovation and growth in the applications of digital imagery.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “The DPA supports the right of the individual to a copy of any personal data held about them. Therefore data controllers are obliged to provide a copy of the tape if the individual can prove that they are identifiable on the tape, and they provide enough detail to locate the image (e.g., 1 hour before/after the time they believe they were captured by CCTV, their location and what identifiable features to look for). They must submit an appropriate application to the Data Controller and pay a £10 fee. However, the request can be refused if there are additional data/images on the tape relating to a third party. These additional images must be blurred or pixelated out, if shown to a third party. A good example would be a car accident where one party is attempting to claim against another. The data controller is obliged to say no to a civil request to view the tape, as consideration must be given to the other party. A request by the police is a different matter though.”

  2. 2.

    See http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/cctv13.htm.

  3. 3.

    More than 3 billion photos a day are uploaded to Facebook [20].

  4. 4.

    Consider the case of the British fraudster John Darwin who faked his own death but was identified in a photograph on a real estate web site after subsequently buying property [61].

  5. 5.

    http://www.ftc.gov/privacy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Google Research, New York, NY, 10011, USA

    Andrew W. Senior

  2. IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, NY, 10598, USA

    Sharathchandra Pankanti

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  1. Andrew W. Senior
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  2. Sharathchandra Pankanti
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Correspondence to Andrew W. Senior .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Automation, Center Biometrics Research & Security, Chinese Academy of Science, Room 1227, Zhongguancun 95, Beijing Donglu, 100080, China, People's Republic

    Stan Z. Li

  2. Dept. Computer Science & Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824-1226, Michigan, USA

    Anil K. Jain

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Senior, A.W., Pankanti, S. (2011). Privacy Protection and Face Recognition. In: Li, S., Jain, A. (eds) Handbook of Face Recognition. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-932-1_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-932-1_27

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