MP-DF will investigate Facebook's facial recognition technology

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In recent months, Brazilians who use Facebook have come across a message that the social network is using facial recognition tools in its services. The Public Ministry of the Federal District wants to know how this works. This Monday (23/7) the agency announced the opening of a civil investigation to investigate the practice.


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Federal District MP sees risks to users' privacy in facial recognition tool used by Facebook
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For Facebook, the mechanism will help users preserve their privacy and prevent unauthorized use of their image. According to the coordinator of the MP-DF Personal Data Protection Commission, prosecutor Frederico Meinberg Ceroy, the new feature may pose problems of violating privacy.

“The MP wants to know how this will work, understand and analyze legality in Brazil at a time when personal data is being discussed. The human face, when technologically mapped, is B2B Lead considered sensitive personal data in the biometric data modality. This is data that deserves protection. The laws in countries in the United States and Europe are very strict in this regard”, explained the prosecutor.

In the ordinance opening the investigation, the MP-DF considered that current facial recognition technology can obtain a high degree of accuracy in relation to individuals with white skin, but is not efficient in relation to individuals with black skin. Furthermore, according to the agency, it is possible, through facial recognition, to identify people's sexual orientation with a high degree of success and, consequently, create a radar for discrimination purposes and monitor citizens, violating privacy.



Waiting for Sanction
At the beginning of July, Congress approved a bill on the protection of personal data. The text aims to give citizens greater control over their personal information on the internet: it requires explicit consent for the collection and use of data, both by public authorities and the private sector, and requires the provision of options for the user to view, correct and delete this data . The project was sent for presidential sanction.

PLC 53/2018 also prohibits, among other things, the processing of personal data for the practice of illicit or abusive discrimination. This treatment is the crossing of information from a specific person or group to support commercial decisions (consumer profile to publicize offers of goods or services, for example), public policies or the actions of a public body.