What happens when your face becomes data?
The Big Story

What happens when your face becomes data?

B2Upper-intermediateNovember 12, 202623 min
  • Interview
  • Technology

Facial recognition is marketed as convenient, but it seems like the ease comes at a cost. Biometric surveillance has become central to security information systems across government agencies including border patrol, policing and immigration. These are instances where choice and consent come at the price of life and liberty. Host Maria Kestane speaks to Aaron Tucker, author and associate professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. They discuss who sets the thresholds for obedience, and what happens when data collection is non-negotiable. Learn more about Aaron's book here: Flexible Faces – Aaron Tucker W...

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Where and what are you prohibited from accessing and who exactly defines that threshold?

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service, supports, even citizenship here in Canada. And when we obey, because there isn't

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0:00

Frequency podcast network. Stories that matter. Podcasts that resonate. Remember when you actually had to memorize your passwords to access something? Be it your phone or a banking app or some online service. I mean, you still do need a password to get into an account or to get access to something.

0:22

but most apps or websites give us the option of scanning our face and using ourselves as the entry code. Which is cool, right? Like it's convenient, it's secure, you can enable it for certain apps and not use it for others. You're in control of the convenience. But what happens when you can't toggle surveillance on and off?

0:44

Where and what are you prohibited from accessing and who exactly defines that threshold? I'm Maria Castain. Surveillance and data collection have become an entry point to gaining rights, service, supports, even citizenship here in Canada. And when we obey, because there isn't always an alternative, who gets our data and what's that shelf life look like?

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