Facebook is launching a brand new version of its photo-sharing tool Moments to Europe and Canada after the initial rollout almost a year ago. However, one major difference is that unlike Moments available in the United States it is missing facial recognition tech.
The US version uses the social giant's photo-tagging system to scan and recognize faces. However, courts in the European Union (EU) and Canada have ruled the automatic image tagging breaks their privacy laws.
As a result the EU version includes a workaround. It asks Moments users to manually identify faces in the photos then searches for the same face based on general similarities.
The results are not as smooth as the US version. However, it does not collect biometric data for photo-tagging so there are no legal issues.
Facebook is launching the new version of Moments as it takes on new legal fights in the US about the legality of its photo-tagging software. Last week a US district court ruled that the social network's facial-recognition system falls under an Illinois law that prohibits the collection of biometric data unless a user has given clear permission, according to The Verge. The court is still deciding on the issue.
Meanwhile, Google is also facing legal action over Google Photos, which has many of the same functions as Facebook Moments. The lawsuit over the search giant's cloud-based photo-sharing service was filed in a US district court in early March.
In the lawsuit Chicago resident Lindabeth Rivera claims Google Photos took about 11 pictures of her using an Android OS smartphone. The mobile device reportedly captured the photographs then uploaded them to Google Photos.
Rivera claims Google software scanned her facial geometry and made a template of her face. She alleges she does not use Google Photos or own an Android handset.
Illinois and Texas are the only US states that regulate how companies can use biometric data, and only the Midwestern state allows damages for law violations.
Experts project that facial-recognition tech will boom during the next half decade, according to Toronto Star. This means that big questions about the benefits and drawbacks will also increase. They include issues related to social media shaming, soccer stadiums, and the EU refugee crisis.
Here's how brains recognize faces: