Overnight Tech: GAO probes facial recognition technology

LEDE: Google and Facebook are the only two major social media, retail or casino companies that the Government Accountability Office could identify as using facial recognition technology in a new report.

The GAO report into the use of facial recognition comes amid rapid advances in the technology which have sparked privacy concerns.

{mosads}Both companies, which were not explicitly named in the report released Thursday, told GAO investigators that neither had any plans to share their facial recognition data with a third-party without user consent.

Google noted there are certain limited exceptions, for example sharing with domain administrators or for legal reasons.

Six other unnamed social media companies said they do not employ the technology. The five largest retail stores and the four largest casinos did not mention facial recognition in their privacy policies either. But the GAO said that does not necessarily mean the companies do not employ the technology. The National Retail Federation told investigators that its members’ privacy policies are “written broadly enough” to address the technology. 

No federal laws explicitly govern the use of facial recognition technology, but the GAO found that the Federal Trade Commission might have some limited power if the technology violated a privacy policy or caused consumers substantial injury. The report also highlighted some laws that could cover the sharing and distribution of data collected. In the report Thursday, the GAO noted it previously advised Congress to strengthen its privacy framework, which could include limits on facial recognition technology. 

READ THE NET NEUTRALITY COURT BRIEFS: A series of telecom companies and trade groups issued their brief Thursday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in their case challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s new Internet rules. The 159-page document outlining concerns with the new regulations was submitted by US Telecom, NCTA, CTIA, ACA, WISPA, AT&T, and CenturyLink. Another brief was submitted by Alamo Broadband and Daniel Berninger. 

FCC REPUBLICANS TAKE ISSUE WITH WAIT ON CHARTER-TWC MERGER: Republican FCC Commissioners Ajit Pai and and Michael O’Rielly took issue Thursday with the way the still-young review process for the Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House deal is playing out. Their concern stems from an item being considered that protects confidential information as part of the review. But the order also marks a break from previous, similar items because it reflects a ruling from a federal court about the way the agency handles confidential information. In the meantime, the official review hasn’t started.

“We are deeply dismayed that the FCC’s leadership seems unwilling to begin the formal review of the Charter Communications/Time Warner Cable/Bright House Networks transaction until Commissioners agree to change the FCC’s procedures for protecting confidential information,” they said in a statement. “We don’t plan to allow this maneuver to deter us from giving careful scrutiny to the important item in front of us, which if adopted, would apply not only to future transactions but all Commission proceedings. Among other things, we believe that the better course would be for the Commission to seek public input on these proposed procedures before moving ahead.” They urged the commission to start the deal’s shot clock.

COMCAST NARROWING IN ON CONTENT INVESTMENTS?: NBCUniversal is reportedly preparing to invest in BuzzFeed and increase its stake in Vox Media, part of an ongoing strategy to move beyond its cable roots. Re/code reported that the company is considering making a $250 million investment in BuzzFeed — which began as an aggregator of viral content but has since built out a news division. The specifics of the reported deal, which could still fall through, come after speculation that Comcast was talking to a broad range of digital media firms.

CLYBURN TOUTS BROADBAND ACCESS: Speaking to a conference of a the National Urban League, Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn called for greater access to broadband and said organizers in attendance should bridge the gap between large tech companies and black young people. “Companies that pay the best wages will never hire those who are not digitally proficient, and without each of us challenging high-tech companies to recruit from historically black colleges and universities and from state-supported schools, and without each of us being the bridge for those who do not have corporate contacts, our young people will never have a chance of being employed by high tech companies or any other company,” she said.

TWITTER IS A POPULAR RAP LYRIC: Twitter is by far the most mentioned app in modern rap lyrics, according to a count by Genius and reported by Bloomberg News. Twitter is mentioned in more than 800 songs, Instagram in more than 500, and Uber in 87. Snapchat, Tinder and Airbnb rounded out the list. 

CUSTOMERS PAYING HUNDREDS TO RENT TV BOXES: The average household is paying $231.82 a year to rent their set top boxes that come with a cable or satellite subscription, according to statistics compiled by two Democratic senators. About 99 percent of homes rent their set-top box directly from their pay TV provider. Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) released the stats to push the idea that the industry needs more competition. They have criticized a law passed last year that they say would give pay TV providers more of an advantage. 

A provision in last year’s satellite TV bill contained language to repeal the so-called “set-top box integration ban. Companies like TiVo strongly opposed the provision, which they say would allow cable companies to lock out competition by making it harder for consumers to use set-top boxes from other firms. The so-called “set-top box integration ban” would end after a year, according to the legislation, and a working group was created to find new options.

CABLE INDUSTRY FIRES BACK: The National Cable & Telecommunications Association shot back at the two senators, saying there is a “growing number of choices” in providers and ways to access video.  “It’s unfortunate the Senators Markey and Blumenthal continue to misrepresent the text and impact of the STELAR Act,” the group said in a statement. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 

Just the existence of a block of airwaves set aside for smaller carriers in an upcoming spectrum auction is a “significant win,” T-Mobile’s chief executive said Thursday

Google is pushing back on French regulators who have mandated that the search-engine giant extend the so-called “right to be forgotten” to the entire globe.

Black lawmakers are slated to push diversity during a trip to Silicon Valley next week

Roughly 2,000 complaints about Internet Service Providers have been sent to the Federal Communications Commission by consumers under the agency’s new net neutrality rules, National Journal reported Thursday.

A Senate panel on Wednesday passed legislation to require certain federally funded research to be open to the public. 

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