By Paul Schuepp

Animetrics’ Dr. Marc Vaillant, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering, will be a presenter and panelist at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) meeting on February 25.

The meeting is the second in a series that aims “to develop a voluntary, enforceable code of conduct that specifies how the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights applies to facial recognition technology,” according to the NTIA’s website.

The objectives of the next meeting are to begin a discussion among stakeholders like Animetrics regarding privacy practices for facial recognition technology, and to provide a venue for stakeholders to agree on a way to go about establishing these practices.

Dr. Vaillant’s presentation will be educational in nature, and will focus on what facial recognition is, what it is not and its current capabilities and limitations. Education about facial biometrics is crucial, because regulators need to fully understand the technology if they are going to propose and enforce guidelines.

I recently wrote an editorial in Forbes.com regarding this issue, concluding that any talk of guidelines at this nascent point in face biometrics technology is premature. Guidelines at this stage could stymie progress in a very promising market, and could kill investment in a growing, marketable area when the U.S. economy badly needs a boost from innovation. At worst it could hinder the rules that our law enforcement community play by and make it even more difficult for them to prosecute.

As a stakeholder in these proceedings, Animetrics will closely monitor and, whenever possible, participate in the discussions. Our goal is to help create a business climate that promotes and facilitates the growth of facial recognition technologies and to position its use for securing your privacy, not taking it away.

Stay tuned. We’ll keep you updated on the NTIA meetings, taking place through June, and Animetrics’ role in them.