• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Services
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Top Nav Social Icons

Mobile ID World

Mobile ID World

Identification Revolution

  • Mobile ID
    • What Is Mobile ID?
    • Identity Associations
    • Premier Partners
    • FAQ
  • News
  • Solutions
    • Behavioral
    • Facial Recognition
    • Fingerprint Biometrics
    • Iris Biometrics
    • Second Factor
    • Smart Cards
    • Smartphones
    • Vital
    • Voice
    • Wearable Tech
    • Other
  • Applications
    • Access Control
    • Cloud Technology
    • Commerce
    • Enterprise
    • Healthcare
    • Identification
    • Internet of Things
    • Law Enforcement
    • Strong Online Authentication
  • Exclusive
    • Interviews
    • Featured Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Companies
  • Events

Privacy Must Be Protected Amidst the Rise of Augmented Reality: EFF

October 27, 2020

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is warning about the impending rise of Augmented Reality (AR), and the extreme threat that it poses to people’s privacy. In that regard, the organization believes that AR represents a unique threat to civil liberties, since it pairs real-time location data with dynamic video and audio surveillance that can be analyzed with facial recognition, gait recognition, and other technologies.

Privacy Must Be Protected Amidst the Rise of Augmented Reality: EFF

AR is also unique insofar as it would be virtually impossible to opt out of the resulting surveillance network. If AR headsets become as ubiquitous as smartphones, people would almost certainly be within sight (and within earshot) of an AR sensor at all times while they are in public. As a result, governments and corporations would have a comprehensive record of everything that private citizens do and say while they are out and about, even if they are not wearing an AR device and would otherwise expect to have a degree of privacy.  

With that in mind, the EFF is stressing the need for strong data privacy protections. That applies to corporations and governments alike. For example, the organization suggests that tech companies should not store every bit of information just because they can, especially since the government could force them to hand over that data at a later date. Instead, corporations should collect only the minimal amount of data needed to provide the services their customers want, and should give those customers more control over the data that does get collected.

The organization also points out that many countries have legislation that protects people’s civil liberties, and that courts have often ruled that that guarantees a certain amount of anonymity in public, if only because surveillance used to be difficult and expensive. Unfortunately, AR makes it much easier (and much cheaper) to monitor civilians, and the EFF is worried that governments will be tempted to abuse that power.

The EFF is ultimately afraid that AR will lead to the rise of a dystopian panopticon if governments and businesses do not take proactive steps to protect people’s privacy. It notes that while there was pushback against Google Glass in 2013, tech giants like Facebook and Apple are still working to bring commercial AR to the market.

Source: EFF

Filed Under: Industry News Tagged With: AR technology, Augmented Reality, civil rights, EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation, facial recognition, gait recognition, privacy, privacy issues, privacy rights

Related News & Articles

Amazon Adds Biometric Security to Home Unlocking App

Samsung to Launch Galaxy Note 8 on Aug. 23rd

FIDO and EMVCo Expand 3DS Collaboration

Primary Sidebar

Register For the Next Virtual Identity Summit

Register now!

Tweets

Sponsored Links

FACEPHI is a global leader in Facial Recognition technology and in Mobile Biometrics technologies. With a strong concentration in the financial sector, FacePhi's product is rapidly becoming a service used by banks all over the world. Its implementation doesn’t just save money, it is also a way to attract clients and build loyalty, while increasing the security of transactions for both the customer and the business. To learn more about FacePhi, visit https://www.facephi.com/en/

Recent Posts

  • FCC Tells Apple and Google to Get Rid of TikTok
  • Yubico Offers Subscriptions Through AWS Marketplace
  • Saskatchewan Privacy Commissioner Urges Development of Optional Digital ID
  • Wearable Authentication Company Closes $13 Million Funding Round
  • Fobi and Barnet Unveil New Digital Wallet Loyalty Solution

Footer

  • About Us
  • Company Directory
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Archives
  • CCPA: Do not sell my personal info.

Follow Us

Copyright © 2022 MobileIDWorld