Failures in the Digital World – When Facial Recognition Becomes a Tool of Control

The revealing article "Woman mistaken for thief after shop face scan alert" makes one thing clear: digitalization no longer simply serves the ideals of convenience and safety — it also carries significant risks to freedom and privacy.

No More Privacy
Facial recognition technologies often operate in the shadows and without the knowledge of those being observed. In social networks and platforms like Clearview AI, millions of photos have been collected and stored in databases — entirely without consent. If you think only celebrities or criminals are affected, think again: everyday activities — like a casual photo with friends at the supermarket — can be enough to end up in these systems.

Error Rates and Discrimination
Even though companies like Google and others continue improving their algorithms, error rates remain an issue. Especially affected: women, people of color, and other minorities. These groups have a significantly higher chance of being misidentified or wrongly flagged — a real risk for discrimination and unjustified control measures.

Loss of Agency Through Surveillance
The psychological pressure is real: people behave differently when they know they’re being watched — whether during demonstrations or in public spaces. A loss of anonymity leads to self-censorship: individuals avoid expressing opinions or entering certain places out of fear of being identified.

Pervasive Control in Retail
The real-life case in the article shows: even in a supermarket, facial recognition can quickly lead to exclusion — with little to no justification. These technologies grant retailers unchecked power: “blacklists” can be created, and customers can be included or excluded at will — completely unilaterally. Is this the future we want?

Biometric Data Is Irreversible
Unlike passwords or PINs, your face is part of your body — it can’t be changed. Once a biometric dataset is compromised, the consequences are permanent. Also: where are the servers located? Who has access to the data? These questions are often neither answered transparently nor regulated effectively.

A Dangerous Societal Precedent
Once facial recognition becomes established, it’s nearly impossible to roll back. In China, for example, police can identify suspects in seconds using smart glasses — supported by a social credit system and mass surveillance. In Europe, politics and industry are still debating, but pilot projects are already underway in some sectors — often without clear regulations.

Digitalization with a Sense of Proportion

Digital convenience must not outweigh the protection of our fundamental human rights. The conflict between security and privacy is not just technological — it is also political, ethical, and legal at its core.

Concrete Demands for Responsible Use:

1. Transparency and oversight – Users must know when and why facial recognition is being used and have the right to object.
2. Independent auditing – Algorithms must be tested and verifiable for errors and bias.
3. Legal regulation instead of unregulated expansion – Systems like those in China show where unchecked implementation can lead. The EU AI Act and GDPR must be consistently enforced.
4. Treat biometric data like fundamental rights – This data belongs solely to the individual. Its protection must be a top priority.