"While the company is promoting the technology as a convenient way for homeowners to customize notifications and boost security, some are calling it a dangerous violation of privacy. Introduced in September, the Familiar Faces feature is not turned on by default. But once Ring users opt in, it can automatically scan the faces of guests and passersby using facial-recognition technology, or FRT. FRT works by scanning your face and, with the help of AI, translating it into a unique patchwork of numbers, also known as a "faceprint.""
"Some experts are now arguing that Amazon's new feature poses a particularly high risk, both due to the fact that it collects biometric data from anyone who's within sight of a Ring camera and in light of Amazon's previous partnerships with law enforcement agencies, including with Flock, a surveillance company that shares footage with ICE. "Amazon's system forces non-consenting bystanders into a biometric database without their knowledge or consent," Massachusetts senator Edward Markey wrote in a public letter published in October. "This is an unacceptable privacy violation.""
Amazon launched Familiar Faces, a Ring feature that uses facial-recognition technology to identify and catalog people seen by doorbell cameras. The feature is opt-in and not enabled by default. Once activated, it can automatically scan faces of guests and passersby and convert them into AI-generated "faceprints" for customized notifications and security preferences. Proponents cite convenience and improved homeowner security. Critics say the feature collects biometric data from anyone within camera view, risks privacy and civil liberties, and could enable broader surveillance given Amazon's prior law-enforcement partnerships. Familiar Faces is rolling out to Ring users across the United States.
Read at ZDNET
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