Food for thought?

https://pogowasright.org/using-facial-recognition-three-recent-articles-of-interest/

Using facial recognition? Three recent articles of interest.

A few reports we were reading this week about facial recognition that we found of note.

First, Odia Kagan of Fox Rothschild writes:

Following the Federal Trade Commission’s decision in December 2023 to ban Rite Aid from using AI facial recognition, it has become crystal clear that U.S. regulators expect a risk assessment when a retailer uses facial recognition technology.

A new, and detailed, report from the New Zealand privacy commission provides helpful considerations for such Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs). They include:

• Was the data trained on minorities?

• How long will the retailer retained data that wasn’t matched?

• Data minimization techniques (including when to share among stores and when to add to a watchlist).

• How accurate should the match be to trigger consideration (92.5%)?

Second, over in Ireland, the DPC announced the conclusion of its investigation into use of facial matching technology in connection with the Public Services Card by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). The four-year investigation followed an earlier investigation. The findings if the current investigation were that DSP:

• Infringed Articles 5(1)(a), 6(1), and 9(1) GDPR by failing to identify a valid lawful basis for the collection of biometric data in connection with SAFE 2 registration at the time of the inquiry;

• Having regard to the preceding finding, infringed Article 5(1)(e) GDPR by retaining biometric data collected as part of SAFE 2 registration;

• Infringed Articles 13(1)(c) and 13(2)(a) GDPR by failing to put in place suitably transparent information to data subjects as regards SAFE 2 registration; and

• Infringed Articles 35(7)(b) and (c) GDPR by failing to include certain details in the Data Protection Impact Assessment that it carried out in relation to SAFE 2 registration.

In light of the infringements identified above, the DPC has (1) reprimanded the DSP, (2) issued administrative fines totalling €550,000, and (3) issued an order to the DSP requiring it to cease processing of biometric data in connection with SAFE 2 registration within 9 months of this decision if the DSP cannot identify a valid lawful basis.

Read more about the investigation and findings on the DPC’s site.

And third, let us also take this opportunity to remind entities of the need to consider at what point the use of facial recognition is even warranted. Joe Cadillic sent along a recent item from The Guardian in the UK about a retail store customer who was put on a facial ID watchlist at Home Bargains after dispute over 39 pence of paracetamol they accused her of stealing. She firmly denies stealing it, but her complaint notes:

“To be clear: [she] did not steal the paracetamol during the first visit. The allegations by Home Bargains are false. However, even taking Home Bargains’ allegations at face value, their – and Facewatch’s – biometric processing was clearly not in the substantial public interest.

“The watchlist entry was created and acted upon in order to apprehend someone supposedly guilty of (on one occasion) stealing goods valued at less than £1. It is scarcely possible to imagine a less serious ‘offender’.”

Worth exploring…

https://www.bespacific.com/ai-ethics-with-professor-casey/

AI Ethics with Professor Casey

AI Ethics with Professor Casey – “For nearly five years, I’ve (Casey Fiesler aka Professor Casey) been creating social media content (largely on TikTok and Instagram) about artificial intelligence, especially as related to ethics, policy, and social impact. This page is intended as a syllabus of sorts–a post-hoc curated collection of videos that provide introductions, examples, and deep dives into various concepts.  In addition to the resources below, I also maintain a spreadsheet of AI ethics and policy news that is categorized into similar buckets, for further reading.  This document is very much under construction!  Though I’m officially sharing it as of June 2025 with a skeleton of some favorite videos, it will continue to be populated with both old and new content, and I will also continue to add many more references to further readings and resources from others. I am also in the process of uploading all of these videos to my YouTube channel as well. Some links will initially only be to TikTok because that’s where they were originally shared but more videos will be populated with YouTube links in the coming days!

Table of Contents
1  What is AI and what can it do?
2  Information literacy and mis/disinformation
3  Bias and fairness
4  IP and data
5  Labor and creativity
6  Education
7  Sustainability
8  Regulation
9  (Yet) uncategorized

Perspective. (And a philosophy?)

https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-denmark-is-dumping-microsoft-office-and-windows-for-libreoffice-and-linux/

Why Denmark is dumping Microsoft Office and Windows for LibreOffice and Linux

Denmark's Minister of Digitalization, Caroline Stage, has announced that the Danish government will start moving away from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice. Why? It's not because open-source is better, although I would argue that it is, but because Denmark wants to claim "digital sovereignty." In the States, you probably haven't heard that phrase, but in the European Union, digital sovereignty is a big deal and getting bigger.

A combination of security, economic, political, and societal imperatives is driving the EU's digital sovereignty moves. EU leaders are seeking to reduce Europe's dependence on foreign technology providers, primarily those from the United States, and to assert greater control over its digital infrastructure, data, and technological future.

Why? Because they're concerned about who controls European data, who sets the rules, and who can potentially cut off access to essential services in times of geopolitical tension.  

Always something new.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nyc-woman-found-phone-buried-105000183.html

NYC woman found a phone buried in her lawn — and police say it’s a new tactic thieves use to spy on homeowners

… Mary Kehoe, who’s lived in her Forest Hill home for 35 years, spotted the strange device outside. It looked like an Android phone wrapped in black tape, with only the camera exposed — like it was made to watch, not call.

… Experts warn that these kinds of planted devices may be part of a growing tactic used by burglars to spy on homeowners, tracking their daily routines or scouting for valuables. And it’s not just an isolated case — similar incidents have popped up across the Tri-State Area.