The Federal Trade Commission has threatened to bring enforcement actions against businesses that mislead consumers about technologies like facial recognition software that use physical characteristics to identify individuals.
False or unsubstantiated claims about the accuracy and effectiveness of these biometric technologies, or about the collection and use of such data, may violate the FTC Act’s consumer protections, the agency warned in a policy statement commissioners voted to adopt Thursday.
Facial recognition in particular has become more common as a way to identify people and grant them access or entry. Fingerprints also have been used as a form of employee time-keeping in some industries. Privacy and civil liberties advocates have raised concerns that technologies like these pose risks for keeping information secure, allow for surveillance, and bring the potential for bias and discrimination.
The commission said it would be on the lookout for uses of such technology that fail to assess foreseeable harms to consumers and gather biometric information surreptitiously or unexpectedly, among other issues.
The FTC has brought enforcement actions over biometric technologies in the past. In 2021, the maker of a now-defunct photo and video-storage app known as Everalbum settled allegations that it deceived consumers about its use of facial recognition and its retention of content from deactivated accounts. As part of an earlier $5 billion settlement with
The commission’s three current members, all Democrats, voted unanimously to adopt the biometrics statement in a meeting Thursday where they also are scheduled to consider a proposal for regulating unauthorized disclosures of health data.
