Facebook to shut down face-recognition system, delete data

In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on an iPad in Philadelphia. Facebook said it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete faceprints of more than 1 billion people. (AP)
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Updated 03 November 2021
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Facebook to shut down face-recognition system, delete data

  • Facebook didn’t immediately respond to questions about how people could verify that their image data was deleted, or what it would be doing with the underlying technology

PROVIDENCE, R.I.: Facebook said it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people amid growing concerns about the technology and its misuse by governments, police and others.
“This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology’s history,” Jerome Pesenti, vice president of artificial intelligence for Facebook’s new parent company, Meta, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.
He said the company was trying to weigh the positive use cases for the technology “against growing societal concerns, especially as regulators have yet to provide clear rules.” The company in the coming weeks will delete “more than a billion people’s individual facial recognition templates,” he said.
Facebook’s about-face follows a busy few weeks. On Thursday it announced its new name Meta for Facebook the company, but not the social network. The change, it said, will help it focus on building technology for what it envisions as the next iteration of the Internet — the “metaverse.”
The company is also facing perhaps its biggest public relations crisis to date after leaked documents from whistleblower Frances Haugen showed that it has known about the harms its products cause and often did little or nothing to mitigate them.
Facebook didn’t immediately respond to questions about how people could verify that their image data was deleted, or what it would be doing with the underlying technology.
More than a third of Facebook’s daily active users have opted in to have their faces recognized by the social network’s system. That’s about 640 million people. Facebook introduced facial recognition more than a decade ago but gradually made it easier to opt out of the feature as it faced scrutiny from courts and regulators.
Facebook in 2019 stopped automatically recognizing people in photos and suggesting people “tag” them, and instead of making that the default, asked users to choose if they wanted to use its facial recognition feature.
Facebook’s decision to shut down its system “is a good example of trying to make product decisions that are good for the user and the company,” said Kristen Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame. She added that the move also demonstrates the power of public and regulatory pressure, since the face recognition system has been the subject of harsh criticism for over a decade.
Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook’s parent company, appears to be looking at new forms of identifying people. Pesenti said Tuesday’s announcement involves a “company-wide move away from this kind of broad identification, and toward narrower forms of personal authentication.”
“Facial recognition can be particularly valuable when the technology operates privately on a person’s own devices,” he wrote. “This method of on-device facial recognition, requiring no communication of face data with an external server, is most commonly deployed today in the systems used to unlock smartphones.”
Apple uses this kind of technology to power its Face ID system for unlocking iPhones.
Researchers and privacy activists have spent years raising questions about the tech industry’s use of face-scanning software, citing studies that found it worked unevenly across boundaries of race, gender or age. One concern has been that the technology can incorrectly identify people with darker skin.
Another problem with face recognition is that in order to use it, companies have had to create unique faceprints of huge numbers of people – often without their consent and in ways that can be used to fuel systems that track people, said Nathan Wessler of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has fought Facebook and other companies over their use of the technology.
“This is a tremendously significant recognition that this technology is inherently dangerous,” he said.
Facebook found itself on the other end of the debate last year when it demanded that facial recognition startup ClearviewAI, which works with police, stop harvesting Facebook and Instagram user images to identify the people in them.
Concerns also have grown because of increasing awareness of the Chinese government’s extensive video surveillance system, especially as it’s been employed in a region home to one of China’s largely Muslim ethnic minority populations.
Facebook’s huge repository of images shared by users helped make it a powerhouse for improvements in computer vision, a branch of artificial intelligence. Now many of those research teams have been refocused on Meta’s ambitions for augmented reality technology, in which the company envisions future users strapping on goggles to experience a blend of virtual and physical worlds. Those technologies, in turn, could pose new concerns about how people’s biometric data is collected and tracked.
Meta’s newly wary approach to facial recognition follows decisions by other US tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and IBM last year to end or pause their sales of facial recognition software to police, citing concerns about false identifications and amid a broader US reckoning over policing and racial injustice.
At least seven US states and nearly two dozen cities have limited government use of the technology amid fears over civil rights violations, racial bias and invasion of privacy.
President Joe Biden’s science and technology office in October launched a fact-finding mission to look at facial recognition and other biometric tools used to identify people or assess their emotional or mental states and character. European regulators and lawmakers have also taken steps toward blocking law enforcement from scanning facial features in public spaces.
Facebook’s face-scanning practices also contributed to the $5 billion fine and privacy restrictions the Federal Trade Commission imposed on the company in 2019. Facebook’s settlement with the FTC included a promise to require “clear and conspicuous” notice before people’s photos and videos were subjected to facial recognition technology.
And the company earlier this year agreed to pay $650 million to settle a 2015 lawsuit alleging it violated an Illinois privacy law when it used photo-tagging without users’ permission.
“It is a big deal, it’s a big shift but it’s also far, far too late,” said John Davisson, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. EPIC filed its first complaint with the FTC against Facebook’s facial recognition service in 2011, the year after it was rolled out.


Majarra to publish ‘Werathyat’ magazine in partnership with Saudi Society for Medical Genetics

Updated 10 May 2024
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Majarra to publish ‘Werathyat’ magazine in partnership with Saudi Society for Medical Genetics

  • Collaboration includes agreement to disseminate knowledge about genetic science and medicine in Arabic

DUBAI: Arabic digital content provider Majarra has signed an agreement with the Saudi Society for Medical Genetics to publish Arabic content that advances knowledge sharing in the field of genetics.

As part of the agreement, Majarra will publish SSMG’s quarterly journal “Werathyat,” which raises awareness, and provides education about genetic diseases and advancements in the field. 

The magazine also highlights SSMG’s new initiatives and social responsibilities, with the goal of promoting genetic literacy and reducing the prevalence of genetic diseases in Arab societies, the companies said in a statement.

Additionally, the two organizations will collaborate on publishing other high-quality Arabic content on genetic counseling in order to enhance community awareness of genetic diseases, rectify misconceptions surrounding them, and provide psychological and cognitive support to individuals affected by such conditions.

The partnership plays a key role in showcasing SSMG’s efforts “to provide health care, social support, and educational services to individuals with genetic diseases and their families” and “facilitates the dissemination of awareness and genetic guidance through the innovative projects and programs implemented by our Society,” said SSMG spokesperson Prof. Zuhair bin Abdullah Rahbini.

 For Majarra, the agreement “aligns with our mission to deliver the best Arabic content on the Internet” and the company will work with SSMG “in carrying out its mission of developing the medical practice of genetics, enriching scientific research, and providing awareness, the level of health awareness in our Arab societies,” said Dia Haykal, Majarra’s director of partnerships and branding.

“Werathyat” will be available on Majarra’s paid subscription-based mobile app. SSMG will provide Majarra subscriptions to all its members.


Britain’s Arab-focused SAFAR Film Festival to feature stories from 15 countries

Updated 10 May 2024
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Britain’s Arab-focused SAFAR Film Festival to feature stories from 15 countries

  • Biggest festival to date will include 60 screenings and events across four London venues, plus screenings in 8 other UK venues

LONDON: This year’s SAFAR Film Festival will be held from June 18-30 in nine British cities, making it the largest and longest-running Arab cinema event in the UK, according to the Arab British Center.

Curated by long-time SAFAR and Arab British Center collaborator Rabih El-Khoury, the 2024 program will explore the themes of dreams, hopes, and realities through stories from 15 Arab countries.

The festival’s program features 60 screenings and events across four London venues, as well as cinemas in Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford and Plymouth.

El-Khoury said the festival will include Sudanese and Palestinian cinema, and promised audiences “themes spanning family dynamics, loss, love, migration, and the harsh truths of war and politics.”

He said: “Within these stories, and through challenging and captivating cinema, we aim to facilitate exchange, reflection and share strength in solidarity.”

In its ninth year, SAFAR is viewed as the leading platform for showcasing Arab cinema in the UK.

The program features new releases, classics, archive film, and family-friendly screenings.

Highlights include the documentary “Life is Beautiful” by Mohamed Jalaby, which examines European solidarity, and the rigidity of borders, both physical and bureaucratic, amid the Gaza war in 2014.

Other works include “Bye Bye Tiberias” by Lina Soualem, a poignant exploration of four generations of Palestinian women; “The Burdened” by Yemeni director Amr Gamal, which follows Isra’a and Ahmed who struggle to provide a sense of normalcy for their three young children; and “Inshallah a Boy” by Amjad Al Rasheed.

“The festival forms a key part of our work to further understanding of the Arab world in the UK,” said Nadia El-Sebai, executive director of the Arab British Center.

“This year we are honored to work once more with Rabih El-Khoury and our guest curators and partners across the UK to present our biggest festival to date.

“Despite the shadows cast by the difficult realities faced across the region, SAFAR invites us to come together and find solace, hopes and dreams, in the universal language of cinema,” she said.


Taliban warn journalists and experts against cooperating with Afghanistan International TV

Updated 10 May 2024
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Taliban warn journalists and experts against cooperating with Afghanistan International TV

  • Cooperating with the London-based media outfit is a crime, says Taliban information ministry
  • During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban barred most TV, radio and newspapers

KABUL, Afghanistan: The Taliban on Thursday warned journalists and experts against working with Afghanistan International TV, saying they would be committing a crime if they cooperated with the station. It’s the first time they have told people not to cooperate with a specific outlet.

Afghanistan International TV, which is headquartered in London, is accessible through satellite, cable and social media.
A spokesman for the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Information and Culture alleged the station was committing professional violations and violating moral and legal boundaries.

Taliban security personnel sit along a street in Faryab province on March 10, 2024. (AFP)

The Media Violations Commission wanted all journalists and experts in Afghanistan to cease their collaboration with the station, said ministry spokesman Habib Ghofran.
“At the commission’s meeting held yesterday (Wednesday), it was decided that participating in discussions and facilitating the broadcast of this media outlet in public places is prohibited,” added Ghofran.
The deputy minister for broadcasting Zia ul Haq Haqmal said people would be committing a crime if they cooperated with the station.
He cited 10 reasons to avoid working with Afghanistan International TV, including its alleged distortion or falsification of information and campaigning against the ruling system.
“If someone does not cooperate on the basis of all these 10 reasons, then it’s the court’s job to give a punishment,” said Haqmal.

 

The director of Afghanistan International TV, Harun Najafizada, said the commission’s decision would not affect the channel because it had no employees or freelancers in the country.
“We don’t have anyone on the ground and rely on the reporting of Afghan citizens,” said Najafizada. “That’s more challenging, but we have tough verification. It’s a threat to free media, to other media, and to put pressure on us to forgo our professional standards. It’s not going to work.”
Afghanistan fares abysmally in terms of press freedom. The latest index from Reporters without Borders ranked the country 178 out of 180. It ranked 152 last year.
The organization said three radio reporters were arrested in April for broadcasting music and receiving calls from female listeners during shows. Local authorities weren’t available to confirm the arrests.
Also last month, the Taliban suspended two TV stations for failing to “consider national and Islamic values.”
The director for one of the suspended stations, Barya TV, rejected the Taliban’s allegations. The station is still off air.
Latif Sadiq said the station wasn’t informed about the suspension. “The reports that they repeatedly warned (Barya) are absolute lies,” Sadiq said Thursday. “They have decided on their own that (Barya) television is off, broadcasting is off, and they said the case will go to court.”
Many journalists lost their jobs after the Taliban takeover in 2021, with media outlets closing over a lack of funds or because their staff left the country. Women journalists face additional hardships because of work bans and travel restrictions.
During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban barred most television, radio and newspapers.


170 speakers and 1,000+ delegates gather for Gulf Creatives Conference at Harvard University

Updated 10 May 2024
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170 speakers and 1,000+ delegates gather for Gulf Creatives Conference at Harvard University

  • The 3-day event aims to be ‘the premier gathering for creative minds from the Gulf in the US,’ and to ‘empower, inspire and support Gulf creatives to drive positive change’
  • It is organized by The Diwan, a student-run organization intended to provide a platform for discussion of topics relevant to the Arab world, and particularly the Gulf region

BOSTON: A Gulf Creatives Conference will begin on May 10 at Harvard University, bringing together more than 170 speakers and over 1,000 delegates from sectors such as arts and culture, business and innovation, nonprofits and public policy, healthcare, and science and technology.

The three-day event is organized by The Diwan, a student-run organization at the university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Abdulla Almarzooqi, chairperson of the organization’s UAE Committee, and a graduate student at Harvard, told Arab News the aim is for the conference to “become the premier gathering for creative minds from the Gulf in the US,” and to “empower, inspire and support Gulf creatives to drive positive change.”

The Diwan was founded in the fall of 2023 as a platform for experts, academics, policymakers and students to discuss topics relevant to the Arab world, and particularly the Gulf region, including entrepreneurship, the empowerment of women and young people, and education, he added.

It organized a conference in November last year titled “Shaping the Arab World: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges” that addressed the geopolitics of the region and the ongoing war in Gaza. Almarzooqi said it was the largest gathering of Arab ambassadors in the history of Harvard University.

Now the organization is hosting the Gulf Creatives Conference, at a time when emotions are running high on many college campuses in the US amid protests against the conflict in Gaza by students and, in some cases, faculty members. However, the Harvard event will focus on “creativity and showcasing the region’s most promising talents,” said Almarzooqi.

“Amid the rising tensions on US college campuses, we believe firmly in the power of creativity and the arts in healing wounds and bridging divides,” he added.

The conference will include 24 discussion sessions and five workshops, covering topics such as public policy, innovation strategies, and the future of healthcare, in which all delegates are encouraged to actively participate, organizers said.

The speakers include prominent figures such as: Dr. Mahmoud Al-Yamany, sector head of health and well-being at the NEOM urban development megaproject in Saudi Arabia; Majid Ibrahim Al-Fayyadh, CEO of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh; and Deemah Al-Yahya, secretary-general of the Digital Cooperation Organization.

The Gulf Creatives Conference will take place from May 10 to 12 at Harvard University.


‘Vision 2030 has set a blueprint for the future of the Kingdom,’ says TBWA\RAAD’s Saudi MD

Updated 09 May 2024
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‘Vision 2030 has set a blueprint for the future of the Kingdom,’ says TBWA\RAAD’s Saudi MD

  • Ad agency’s new Riyadh office to serve as a central hub for local, regional, global brands looking to succeed in Saudi Arabia

DUBAI: Advertising agency TBWA\RAAD appointed Dan Leach as its managing director for operations in Saudi Arabia following the establishment of a new office in Riyadh earlier this year. It is now bidding to cement its presence in the Kingdom.

The agency has been working with clients such as KFC, NEOM, and Nissan in the Kingdom for 20 years and now, with its new office, it aims to strengthen and serve as “a central hub for local, regional, and global brands looking to make their mark in the country,” Leach said.

He told Arab News: “The Middle East is renowned for its leadership and bold ambition, and Saudi Arabia exemplifies these qualities. But what I believe makes the Kingdom stand out further is its single-minded approach to disrupting the status quo … of everything.

“From building the largest vertical city in the world in NEOM; redefining luxury in the Red Sea; bringing the world’s sporting events to the country and more, there is no blueprint for what Saudi Arabia is doing.”

Staffing the new office is a “critical aspect of our expansion strategy” and the company is currently focusing on making “strategic hires,” including a new local senior management team, with the objective of ensuring “we have the right talent in place to meet the dynamic needs of our clients, driving our success not only in Riyadh, but across Saudi as a whole,” Leach said.

Saudi’s Vision 2030 has accelerated the growth of multiple industries, as well as technology and innovation, presenting new opportunities for advertising agencies like TBWA\RAAD.

Leach added: “Saudi’s story now belongs on the world stage, which implies that storytelling must be characterized by award-winning strategic and creative thinking.”

The country’s ambition to be at the forefront of technology such as artificial intelligence aligns with the agency’s vision.

Leach said: “We need to keep pace with the ambition of the Kingdom in this area and ensure our clients are benefiting from transformative innovation that can reach new customers.”

This ambition is evident in the growth of the creative and media industry, which is already seeing an “influx of bold award-winning campaigns fueling the emergence of incredible, young creative talent that will see the sector thrive for years to come,” he added.

Contrary to the common belief that Saudi lacks creative talent, Leach’s experience has been quite the opposite.

He said: “I have had a number of discussions with young creatives, and there is a genuine passion and hunger from this next generation to be at the forefront of the industry.”

He believes it is important for the industry to foster this talent in order to bolster the growth of the industry. The agency is therefore working with local universities to implement a graduate and internship program to help identify and support creative talent in the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia’s growth and vision have attracted global attention and investment, with brands stepping up their game in the Kingdom. Leach, however, cautions brands against entering the market with a copy-and-paste approach.

He said: “We’re seeing a lot of brands come into the Kingdom with the approach of simply localizing copy and thinking that is enough to win; it’s not.”

He explained that Saudi consumers are savvy and can distinguish between brands that are being opportunistic and those truly embracing local culture.

Brands can also find success in aligning their story with that of the Kingdom and its leadership, Leach said.

He added: “Brands are entering a country that has near unlimited ambition — they need to match that energy.”

They do so by embracing new technology and aiming big, he said, and this also means brands should experiment and do things differently.

He said: “The Kingdom is an incredibly exciting place where there is room and opportunity to challenge the status quo.”

TBWA\RAAD, for example, has made significant advances in adopting AI — such as partnering with Core42 last year to harness the potential of Arabic large-language model Jais in the creative sector and launching its own ChatGPT-based tool Co-Pirate — to support clients. 

The agency is also working on bringing new products to the Kingdom, including dedicated social media programs, retail initiatives and internal communications platforms.

Leach said: “Our ambition is not to be the largest agency in the Kingdom but creatively the most exciting, and Saudi Arabia presents the perfect canvas upon which we can deliver that ambition.”