“While Facebook’s use of facial recognition has previously landed the company in legal trouble over privacy issues, such technology is increasingly becoming mainstream, especially in the world of consumer tech…”
Facebook appears to be expanding its use of facial recognition-based security, with multiple reports of users being prompted to submit a selfie photo for identity verification before being allowed to log in.
The reports come soon after Facebook started testing a security feature in October that would let users who have been locked out of their accounts regain access by uploading a selfie from a recognized device. But the security feature now being reported appears to have a different aim, with the selfie prompt automatically appearing when Facebook detects suspicious activity, such a sudden post from Russia from a user who otherwise posts from New York.
Reports of this feature first emerged this past April, but they appear to be increasing in frequency, suggesting that they are part of a more intensive effort on Facebook’s part to prevent the kinds of misinformation campaigns that may have swayed the 2016 presidential election.
While Facebook’s use of facial recognition has previously landed the company in legal trouble over privacy issues, such technology is increasingly becoming mainstream, especially in the world of consumer tech, with Apple highlighting a face-based user recognition system as one of the flagship features of its new iPhone X smartphone.
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