Facebook is sued as 'collecting biometric data from photos uploaded to Instagram without permission'

In recent years, people's lives have become strongly dependent on digital and Internet, and people are strongly interested in collecting and handling user data by major IT companies. Facebook was newly sued for ' Instagram 's photo-sharing app Instagram collected user biometric data without permission.'

Facebook's Instagram Targeted in New Lawsuit Over Biometrics-Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-12/facebook-s-instagram-targeted-in-new-lawsuit-over-biometrics

Facebook sued for allegedly harvesting biometric data via Instagram | Appleinsider
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/12/facebook-sued-for-allegedly-harvesting-biometric-data-via-instagram

Facebook has had many concerns regarding the handling of user data and has been sued in many cases. In June 2020, the German Federal Court ruled that Facebook is abusing its monopoly on the market and collecting user data without consent, 'Facebook follows the data collection restrictions imposed by the German Federal Cartel Agency.' Should be done .'

Also, in July 2020, $650 million in a lawsuit that ``Facebook illegally collected and stored user's biometric data via a photo tagging tool provided to Facebook users'' ( We propose to pay the settlement amount of about 69 billion yen.

Facebook raises settlement to $650 million in facial recognition lawsuit-Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy-lawsuit/facebook-raises-settlement-to-650-million-in-facial-recognition-lawsuit-idUSKCN24W313

In a new lawsuit filed in a court in Redwood City , California on August 10, 2020, ``Facebook made profit by collecting and storing biometric data from over 100 million Instagram users without consent. Was accused of.

The plaintiffs claimed that the biometric data that Facebook allegedly collected from Instagram users involved facial recognition technology. Facebook uses face recognition technology to analyze the user's face photo , generates a unique number called a template, and finds and recognizes the user's face from the content. A similar technique was used in Instagram in the complaint, not only collecting biometric data without user consent, but also collecting data from users who do not have an Instagram account shown in the photo. It was said to have been.

'Once Facebook has obtained protected biometric data for Instagram users, it is used to enhance facial recognition technology across all products, including Facebook apps, and information is shared among various entities,' the plaintiff said. Insisted.

Facebook spokeswoman Stephanie Otway argued that the lawsuit was 'unfounded. Instagram doesn't use facial recognition technology.' In addition, according to the policy regarding Instagram data , ``When introducing face recognition technology to Instagram, we will notify the user in advance and ask whether we will use this technology for users, It will allow the user to make their own decisions.'