Google Weighs Facial Recognition Plans

Executives at Google have found themselves in an interesting dilemma. While feeling pressure to launch new facial recognition technology to keep up with the market, new Internet privacy concerns are making some higher-ups uneasy about pushing the privacy envelope.

Google already includes facial recognition in its Picasa photo-sharing service, enabling users to tag people in their photos and then find them in other albums. However, the company was hesitant to use facial rec in its recently-launched Goggles app, which identifies an object by analyzing a smartphone photo of it. Concerns were raised that if Goggles did include facial rec, people’s privacy could be easily compromised.

Now, in the wake of Facebook’s privacy backlash, Web 2.0 users seem more concerned than ever about the potential dangers of facial recognition. Meanwhile, Google has faced its own privacy problems this year, as it undergoes investigations for accidentally recording data from unsecured WiFi connections. And who can forget its much-criticized launch of Buzz, the social networking site that may have exposed users’ private information without their consent.

From the Financial Times:

Eric Schmidt, chief executive, said a series of public disputes over privacy issues had caused the management team to review its procedures and the launch of new technologies. According to Google executives, facial recognition is one of the key topics of internal debate.

Facial recognition is a good example … anything we did in that area would be highly, highly planned, discussed and reviewed,” Schmidt said. “When you go through these things, you review your management procedures.”

While Google pontificates on privacy concerns, companies like Face.com are making headway in the facial rec/social media realm. The Financial Times reported that Schmidt didn’t rule out an eventual facial rec product, however.