German officials reopened an investigation into Facebook’s facial recognition technology Wednesday, contending the social network giant was illegally compiling a vast photo database of users without their consent, reports Kevin J. O’Brien for The New York Times from Berlin.
The investigation, which had been suspended in June, was restarted after repeated attempts to persuade Facebook to change its policies had failed, an official said.
The social networking company uses analytic software to compile photographic archives of human faces, based on photos uploaded by Facebook’s users. But instead of using an opt-in system, Facebook assumes users will want to use facial recognition and requires them to opt out instead. The system prompts users to “tag,” or identify, people in photos uploaded to the service.
Johannes Caspar, the data protection commissioner in Hamburg who led Germany’s investigation into Google’s collection of personal Internet data siphoned from residential Wi-Fi routers, is leading the investigation. He said Facebook has maintained that the practice is legal in Ireland, where Facebook’s European operation is incorporated.
Irish officials are concluding a second audit of the company’s data protection practices, said a spokeswoman for the Irish Data Protection Commission.
The fine in Germany, however, is slight, about $30,000, should Facebook refuse to destroy its biometric database and alter its consent practices.
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