FTC examines Facebook's facial-recognition feature as a privacy violation
Facebook’s “Tag Suggest,” which uses facial-recognition technology to match faces in photos with users’ names, is being examined by the Federal Trade Commission to determine whether it violates the site’s privacy policy.
Tag Suggest drew criticism from privacy advocates, Reuters reports.
In 2011, Facebook entered into an agreement with the federal government regarding how the site used personal data. Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive officer, apologized for some of his actions, and promised to get permission before sharing user’s personal data. Peter Kaplan, an FTC spokesman, told Reuters that the examination was part of government oversight, and the agency did not have a specific reason to think Facebook had violated its 2011 agreement.
“As in all cases, we’re monitoring compliance with the order, and part of that involves interacting with Facebook,” he said.
