Development or dystopia? An introduction to the accountability challenges of data processing by Facial Recognition Technology

Abstract

Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) is becoming increasingly accurate, thanks to the addition of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to these systems, the increasing volume of available data and advances in computing power. Whilst it has potential as a solution to the current needs for identification and verification it could compromise the right to privacy and data protection because it relies on the large-scale processing of sensitive data and there is a lack of transparency and accountability regarding the collection, processing, and use of the (special category) personal data managed by FRT-AI. This article will provide an overview of FRT; after that, it will conduct a comparative analysis of how FRT has been defined by different legal literature and regulatory sources within the EU and the US; then, it will explain the main challenges that FRT poses for the principle of accountability as expressed in article 5.2 GDPR, and finally, it will paint the current (and possible future) scenario that the technology faces from a legal perspective.