Facial Recognition Best Practices for Commercial Uses Issued by NTIA | Practical Law

Facial Recognition Best Practices for Commercial Uses Issued by NTIA | Practical Law

The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the US Department of Commerce, published best practices for the commercial use of facial recognition technologies.

Facial Recognition Best Practices for Commercial Uses Issued by NTIA

Practical Law Legal Update w-002-7119 (Approx. 3 pages)

Facial Recognition Best Practices for Commercial Uses Issued by NTIA

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 27 Jun 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the US Department of Commerce, published best practices for the commercial use of facial recognition technologies.
On June 22, 2016, the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the US Department of Commerce, published best practices for the commercial use of facial recognition technologies.
NTIA based the best practices on the widely-accepted Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) framework, with the intent of establishing a flexible and evolving approach to facial recognition technology uses.
The best practices apply to entities making commercial uses of facial recognition data and include recommendations that they:
  • Publish policies or disclosures describing their collection, storage, and use of facial template data that include the:
    • reasonably foreseeable purposes for collecting and sharing the data;
    • data retention and de-identification practices; and
    • individual's ability to review, correct, or delete facial template data.
  • Develop internal facial template data management practices that consider:
    • whether the enrollment is voluntary or involuntary;
    • sensitivity of non-facial recognition data also being captured and stored;
    • how they store and use the data;
    • whether the entity will use facial template data to determine a person's eligibility for, or access to, employment, healthcare, financial products or services, credit, housing, or insurance;
    • risks and harms to the individual; and
    • reasonable consumer expectations regarding the data's use.
  • Give individuals the ability to control the sharing of their facial template data with unaffiliated third parties.
  • Implement reasonable safeguards to protect facial template data.
  • Take reasonable steps to maintain the data's integrity and accuracy.
  • Establish processes for individuals to contact them about the use of their facial template data.