It is becoming easier to identify individuals from video surveillance.
Video surveillance is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. With the cost of video cameras decreasing, and digital technology allowing individuals and organizations to store footage in servers for easier retrieval as opposed to physical tapes, it is becoming easier for government organizations, companies and individuals to deploy video cameras for surveillance and identification.
Facial Recognition
The advance of biometric identification technology has increased the efficacy and accuracy of facial-recognition technology. It allows computers to scan though surveillance data for facial data infinitely faster and more accurately than watching film manually. The technology can compare faces to facial data the software has access to.
Methods
Facial-recognition technology uses many of each face's unique attributes to identify individuals. These attributes include the width of your nose, the shape of your cheek bones, the size of your jaw, the depth of your eye sockets, and the distance between your eyes. These are just a few of the approximately 80 nodal points on the human face.
Ethical Issues
While surveillance technology is becoming more prevalent and efficient, civil rights organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, are concerned about the implications of widespread video cameras coupled with efficient facial-recognition technology. The idea of cameras on every corner evokes dystopian images, like those from the novel "1984." According to the ACLU, the increasing prevalence of cameras with facial-recognition technology constitutes an invasion of privacy greater than the protection from crime it offers.
Counter Surveillance
An old saying on authorities asks "Who watches the watchman?" In the context of video surveillance, and its increasing capacity for facial recognition, one option some people choose is to embrace the technology. In this way, the feared possibility of police abuse of video surveillance is balanced by extensive civilian surveillance of the police by using the same methods: cameras capable of broadcasting digital signals for long-term storage and increasingly accessible software.
Tags: video cameras, video surveillance, becoming easier, facial data, facial-recognition technology, identify individuals