The study on facial recognition technology (FRT) began in the late 1960s. In the late 1990s, FRT began to enter the market gradually but its accuracy had a long way to go though it cost governments a lot, which made it unpopular at that time. FRT attracted wide attention after September，11, 2001 and it has been widely used now.
Recognizing the potential abuse in the use of FRT, Microsoft is asking the U. S. government to study facial recognition (FR) and keep a dose watch over its use. Personally, I hold this is a positive job that Microsoft is doing. FRT has grown to be so powerful. It can be used to identify people in photos, video feeds，and of course in person, without their permission.
Mr. Bradford Smith, Microsoft’s president, suggests that “governments around the world should examine commercial uses of FR.” The European Union (EU) is ahead of others in this aspect, thanks to its tough new data protection law, which forbids companies to gather the biometric (生物特征) data needed for facial recognition without first obtaining users, permission.
San Francisco has become the first city in the USA to forbid using facial recognition software. And Oakland discussed a similar rule last month. San Francisco has said that police and other public departments cannot use FRT. San Francisco already uses surveillance (监视) cameras for reading car number plates and police officers wear body cameras. San Francisco official Aaron Peskin said FRT was like “Big Brother” from the book 1984 by George Orwell. The phrase Big Brother is now used to describe attempts to increase surveillance and “spy” on citizens. Mr. Peskin said, “We can have good policing without being a police state.”
【小题1】Why was FRT unpopular in the 1990s?| A．It was inconvenient to use. | B．It was expensive to produce. |
| C．Its accuracy needed improving. | D．Its roles weren’t fully found out. |
| A．He says yes to it. | B．He is doubtful of it. |
| C．He feels worried about it. | D．He can’t understand it. |
| A．San Francisco. | B．Microsoft. |
| C．Oakland. | D．The EU. |
| A．Big Brother Technology | B．Different Uses of FRT |
| C．Strong Protection of FRT | D．FR Data’s Disadvantages |
