Facebook to shut down its facial recognition system

Facebook said on Tuesday it will shut down its facial recognition system in the coming days.

The system automatically recognizes users and tags them in photos and videos. The stored data of more than a billion people will be deleted, Facebook said.

The company said there are many concerns over such technology and "and regulators are still in the process of providing a clear set of rules governing its use."

"Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate," it said in a statement.

Facebook, however, still sees the technology as a "powerful tool, for example, for people needing to verify their identity, or to prevent fraud and impersonation."

Rejection

Especially in Europe, Facebook's face recognition system was met with resistance.

Users had to give their explicit consent for their names to be automatically tagged in photos or videos.

For users who have not activated the function, nothing will change, as no data will have to be deleted.