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Facebook to Delete Personal Data of More Than One Billion Users

08/11/2021

Last week, Facebook announced their decision to stop using the face recognition technology. Facebook's decision comes against the backdrop of intensifying concerns around data privacy and Facebook's practices, and it is expected to affect more than one billion users. Wikborg Rein reviews the details of Facebook's decision and its potential consequences in this brief article.

Meta Platforms, Inc. announced that they are putting an end on the use of the face recognition system on Facebook. As a result of the decision, Facebook will be deleting more than a billion people’s individual facial recognition templates.

Facial recognition technology has been used to identify people in photos and videos. Moreover, Facebook's automatic alt text system that generates descriptions of images for visually impaired people uses the technology to tell them when they or one of their friends is in an image. These functions will no longer be available when Facebook stops using the face recognition system.

Meta Platforms, Inc. explains that the growing concerns about the use of the facial recognition technology outweigh the benefits at the moment.

Facebook will not be the first platform to end the use of this technology but the quantity of the data and data subjects concerned is certainly remarkable. The decision is expected to be welcomed by experts and privacy activists who have been consistently raising concerns about Facebook and its use of the facial recognition technology.

Facebook's recent decision comes against the backdrop of intensifying awareness and concerns around data privacy and a legal atmosphere wherein data protection rules are being actively and effectively enforced.

Authors
Profile image of Gry Hvidsten
Gry Hvidsten
Partner
E-mail ghv@wr.no
Profile image of Ekin Ince Ersvaer
Ekin Ince Ersvaer
Paralegal
E-mail eie@wr.no

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