Facebook And Photo DNA

JakeMoore · Share | #1 (**permalink**) 05-20-2011, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Facebook, the largest photo-sharing site on the Internet, said it has begun to use PhotoDNA to hunt for several thousand registered illegal images among the 200 million images uploaded by its users each day.

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/...ts-technology/

Good use of technology or inching ever closer to Big Brother?

Attorney Jaffe · #2 (**permalink**) 05-23-2011, 12:08 PM

inching ever closer to Big Brother?

I am always amazed when people complain about new technology to catch criminals.

Last year our city started monitoring school zone traffic speeds and issuing tickets -- all done by cameras and computers. The local citizenry went crazy -- editorials, picketing, court cases. My comment was, if you don't speed in school zones why do you care? and if you do speed in school zones you are breaking the law and why shouldn't the cops be allowed to use new technology?

I feel the same way here. If you upload kiddie porn using the internet with all its new technology, how can you complain if new technology catches you?

JakeMoore · #3 (**permalink**) 05-23-2011, 05:14 PM

I am sure you are well aware of the substantial constitutional issues related to traffic light cameras. Your argument can be used for basically any government intrusion into any area of our lives. If we I have nothing to hide, why should I care if tsa gropes my kids when they go through security. If I have nothing to hide, why should I care if the police come unto my house at their whim. What if I have done nothing wrong, but I'm just a private person? Why is your right to the illusion of safety greater than my right to be left alone?

With regard to kiddie porn it should absolutely be punished...severely. But I'm sure you can see how an appropriate use of technology can easily be used for other purposes. What happens if they start searching for certain political speech like they did with bumper stickers a few years back? Or even more benignly what happens when the technology is commercially available and companies start scanning your facebook photos to target ads. That is not what I signed up for.