Moral and Ethical Considerations

Though facial recognition technology has a lot of benefits such as, matching lots of faces from
lots of sources to photos in multiple databases; and which is done in real time; there are some
moral and ethical issues to consider, when using facial recognition technology such as the
potential to violate an individuals privacy for the sake of security, accountability of those getting
the information of those using data collected by this technology and, corporate and government
responsibility; and code of ethics.

Errors
One of the major problems faced by the facial recognition technology is the problem of
errors; where the incorrect matches made by this technology can lead to innocent people being
arrested and harassed by police and other law enforcements. The acceptability of the facial
recognition technology would be based on how successful it is, in finding out the real wanted
person, without making it a big inconvenience for the rest of those being subject to the screening
of facial recognition technology. If this technology has a big error rate, with low success rate of
reducing crime, then, we have a case against the acceptability of facial recognition technology.
However, people are usually forgiving and accept the minor inconvenience of being searched; if
such a search happens infrequently, and are based on a low error rate; because, the logic that
people come up with, when they are searched frequently based on constant technical error is that,
why they should suffer all the inconveniences of being in public for the crimes for a few.

Function Creep
This is a term used to define a phenomenon, where a technology that was created with
specific and limited purpose, gains added functions to its existing functions, either through
institutionalized expansion or through systematic abuse of the technology. When considering the
CCTV technology, which was initially for surveillance; turned out to be Smart CCTV, aka,
facial recognition technology; where this surveillance technology got an added function of
identifying faces that come across the cameras lens. In this case, this technology could go from
mere surveillance to recognizing criminal and missing persons.
There could be three different ways of how Smart CCTV can become a subject of
function creep. The first one could be the widening of the databases. This could happen by first
linking the database of missing person, which sounds innocent enough; then, databases of
criminals with an arrest warrant; then, the databases of all criminal past and present; and then
ultimately linked with the databases that contain information of every innocent individual, such
as the databases of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which has the digital photos of all
licensed drivers. Once this happens, the government can categorize people within these databases
based on political affiliations, various backgrounds and even to minor municipal code violations.
A second way that a function creep can happen is by widening the purposes. This
happens when law enforcements extended their purposes and provisions of the Smart CCTVs
from just identifying criminals to predicting criminal activity based on facial expressions or to
even track people over long distances. In other word, these widening of scope could be morally
problematic, given their potential for abuse.

A third way a function creep could occur is when users shift. An instance for this
occurrence is when any federal law enforcement agencies, requests access to Smart CCTV
databases that were originally created for the use of the local police department or county
sheriffs, in order for these agencies to track down terrorists. Information from these CCTVs can
also change hands, when commercial enterprises requests the government for the purpose of
demographic researches.
Function creeps fourth chance of occurrence, lies in the shift in domain; which means,
facial recognition technology such as a Smart CCTV can be used from one domain to another,
solely based on various situation and geography. An example for this is the use of this
technology from urban area to rural areas like small villages.
Developers and users of facial recognition technology have an obligation to make sure
that function creep of all kinds are prevented, given its scope of showing up wherever new
concerns arise.

Privacy Issues
When talking about facial recognition technology, the first thing that comes to mind for
some are the technologys potential to breach a persons privacy. Even though there are various
errors that can occur when using this technology, like the ones mentioned above; the primary
concerns of the opponents of this technology is none other than privacy. Much of the primary
opponents of this technology are the human right activists and the media; and while the
proponents argue that the security benefits outweighs the loss of privacy, opponents say that the
arguments claiming that the security benefits are significantly overstated, and that the loss of

privacy are is understated by the proponents of the technology. Another major argument of the
proponents are that, when an individual is in a public place, they shouldnt have any strong
expectation of privacy. But the fact is that, even an individual in public place, should have a
reasonable expectation of privacy, even though they cannot expect privacy is such circumstances.
The electronic collection and storage for the purpose of detailed analysis for any purpose, on a
wide scale is actually a breach personal privacy. One of the reasons, this is a breach and why we
need privacy in public places is due to fact of negative response that people give, when they
know that their personal information are being collected and stored without their permission.
This means, that individuals do expect a reasonable and justifiable level of privacy, when they
are out in public. These various ways of mining personal information from public places is what
makes the every citizen concerned about the facial recognition technology. There are two types
of practices in public data mining that raise particular concerns. One of them is the use of
electronically collected data for purposes that it was not originally collected for. An example of
this in facial recognition technology would be, if a software company collects facial prints of
users in order for the system to recognize the user the next time, they could sell that biometric
data of that person which includes his or her photos, to interested third parties such as, online
publishers, who are looking for e-mail address of people of various ethnic groups, which would
be based on their looks. There has to be norms to govern what type of information should be
collected for a given context.
In keeping with the norms that govern this collection of data from the public without
consent, comes contextual integrity. Here, contextual integrity means to use personal information
collected from a public place, for the original intended purpose, rather than a re-interpreted
version of the purpose. And this violation of contextual integrity is seen when an individuals

face is matched against thousands of faces in a wanted criminals databases, which is like a line
up at a police station in order to identify a criminal. But the fact is that, not many people would
voluntarily chose to be part of a line up, just because they look similar to a wanted criminal.
But despite that fact, facial recognition technology in public places, gives individuals no other
choice. There are no options in such cases where people can chose not to give any information of
their facial features, which can then be used for a purpose that was intended in the first place.
The idea of privacy itself is about giving people a place where they are free from intrusion of all
sort, including visual, which in turn eliminates scrutiny. But many people view privacy in very
different ways. But one thing is for sure is that facial recognition technology and Smart CCTVs
does intrude to some extent by making them part of a large-scale scrutiny when they are out in
public place, which are essential to their daily lives.
As we all know that, facial recognition technology is a form of biometric which is the
metrics related to physical human characteristics. The privacy issue with biometrics is the very
fact of encoding the physical characteristics of an individuals body such as finger prints eye or
facial patterns, digitally. Our physical characteristics has now been given a functional role of
being an identifier of individuals, similar to a password or bar codes. In other words, our unique
physical characteristics such as our faces, are now digital information which in embedded into a
computer file. Sure, this encoding of our physical characteristics does have a moral aspect of
dehumanization; but concerning privacy, it is the conversion of facial patterns into an
information that concerns many. Once an individuals facial pattern is made an information and
is functionalized, this information of our facial patterns may not necessarily be just our property
alone, but would primarily the property of the government or whichever entity that possesses
your facial pattern through facial recognition technology.

In other words, the same privacy concerns that surround biometric technology, surrounds
the facial recognition technology, because the human face is what helps us identify one
individual from another.

Linking unidentified and identified databases.

All the while, we discussed facial recognition technologies relationship with Smart
CCTVs, and how our facial patterns can be obtained without our consent. But this technology is
not just limited to CCTVs. It can be used by interested parties to match or link photos of an
individual from online sources such as Facebook profiles which shows the individuals real
name, and personal information, with social networking sites with anonymous names, but have
their real photos such as matrimonial or dating websites, Flickr, and even from open webcams.
This linking of identified database with the unidentified ones through facial recognition
technology makes it virtually impossible for a person to stay anonymous on the internet. This is
another privacy issue of its kind and what makes this privacy issue unique is the way it collects
these information. Unlike images that are taken from CCTVs without our consent, these image
comes from sources that the subjects themselves having uploaded onto the internet for the
purpose socializing. But whats more surprising is how facial recognition technology can also
predict an individuals personal and sensitive information from their faces. In an experiment
conducted by students from Carnegie Mellon University, the students were able to predict an
individuals social security number from their faces through an algorithm which automatically
identifies

The unethical aspect here is the very act of collecting and using those images of an
individual, who uploaded their images for purpose other than facial recognition. It other words, it
is use of another persons image for a purpose that was not authorized by that person itself. If a
person can sue another entity for using their image without their permission for gainful purposes;
then that same rule should be applied here, even if it is not for gainful purposes. Some may argue
that using publicly available images is the right to freedom of press; but the counter argument
would be that a persons right to freedom of press should not come at the expense of another
individuals right to their own image.
The immoral aspect of this trend is the act of predicting someones personal sensitive
information such as their sexual orientations and a persons behavior as a whole. This is exactly
the line that many people dont want others to cross. The reason this is immoral is because,
personal sensitive information such as sexual orientation, which can only be known to someone
if that person him or herself declares that fact, are being pre-judged by users of facial recognition
technology by declaring a persons sexual orientation on a database for the sole purpose of the
users personal gains, without the persons firm acknowledgement of their sexual orientation.

Facial Recognition Technology for commercial gains.

Facial recognition technology has a lot of application in the world of commerce,
especially in retail. It can be used to collect facial patterns and characteristics of all individuals
who passes through a store, where store can then categorize each individual by their color, age,
gender and even their size. By categorizing them, the store can see what type of individuals shop
and what department of the store, which can help the store be more efficient in serving those

customers needs; which in turn helps the store benefit itself in terms of customer service and
customer relations. They can also use this technology to integrate the stores loyalty program to
track the members shopping activity. But to recognize a persons color, age or gender, the store
has to first collect that persons photograph, which is where the problem lies; because as
mentioned earlier, if a celebrity can sue a publisher for using their image for the so-called,
commercial gains, then stores and other businesses that use shoppers images for commercial
gains should seek permission from shoppers to use their images, so that the company can benefit
from improved customer service from the images of the shoppers.
Another ethical issue with regards to commercial use of this technology, which actually
relates to privacy and linkage of databases, is the ability of these stores to match facial patterns
of those who enter and exit retail stores, with the photos on social media accounts of those
individuals, so that the stores can later on use this match to advertise their products and services
to those individuals through the social media accounts, where there is a potential for targeted
advertisement based on that individuals sensitive social information on those accounts, which
are strictly meant for other individuals to know about a person, rather than for commercial
reasons. There is also a potential for these stores to use these photos to advertise to individuals
based on their appearances in those photos. For instance, facial recognition software can be
programmed by online and brick and mortar retailers, to distinguish between women or girls
with facial makeup versus those without makeup, which can then be used by retailers to advertise
to those women without makeup or specific type of facial cosmetics. From there, it could take a
nasty and immoral turn, if the subject of these advertisements are young girls, who tend to be
more beauty conscious. Currently, fashion magazines are responsible for bring a desire among
teens girls to have a similar appeal of an adult woman. But this trend could get worse, if clothing

brands and other retailers use facial recognition software to get a hold of these teenage girls
social media account, in order to promote their ideas of fashion to these girls.

Code of Ethics
Like most technologies that haves rules that subject other individuals for its use, facial
recognition technology shouldnt be viewed any less than other technologies that has the
potential to breach an individuals privacy; where this technology should have stringent rules in
place, with relations to its operations; use of data that have been collected from this technology,
such as facial patterns and information that were gathered by linking photos from public cameras
to personal social media accounts; the storage of these data, and the duration of these collected
data. Recognizing a need for guidelines for the use of this technology, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency under the U.S.
Department of Commerce issued a draft, setting out the guidelines for the collection and use of
facial recognition technology, which included various stakeholders in this technology. On the
transparency issue of the technology, the draft effectively requires entities that use this
technology, to let their subjects aware of their policies regarding how the data would be collected
and how it would be used; which would give people an idea of the path that users of this
technology intend to go when they employ this technology. In addition to this awareness, a
notice should also be given to those potential subjects either prior or while using this technology,
which would give people a choice whether they want to be a subject to this technology. In terms
of control, all parties that use this technology should give their subjects a reasonable control over
the data collected from facial recognition technology when it comes sharing those information

with third parties that did not have authorization to the data when it was collected. This control
promotes the subjected individuals right to