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Apple Responds to Senator's Request for Info on Face ID Privacy and Security
Shortly after the iPhone X was unveiled, United States Senator Al Franken, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook to ask several questions about the security and the privacy of Face ID.
Franken asked Apple to address his questions by October 13, 2017, which Apple did through a letter sent by Cynthia Hogan, the company's Vice President for Public Policy in the Americas.
In the letter, Hogan highlights its recent Face ID security paper and Face ID support document, which outline how Apple protects customer privacy and keeps customer data secure.
She also addresses several of Franken's questions, reiterating much of the information that's in the two documents and that's been previously published about Face ID. One of Franken's questions, for example, concerned how Face ID was trained, with Apple's response below:
Following his receipt of the letter, Franken today issued a statement where he said he appreciates Apple's willingness to provide information on Face ID.
Face ID will be available to consumers starting on November 3, the official launch date for the iPhone X. Apple plans to begin accepting pre-orders for the iPhone X on October 27.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Franken asked Apple to address his questions by October 13, 2017, which Apple did through a letter sent by Cynthia Hogan, the company's Vice President for Public Policy in the Americas.
In the letter, Hogan highlights its recent Face ID security paper and Face ID support document, which outline how Apple protects customer privacy and keeps customer data secure.
She also addresses several of Franken's questions, reiterating much of the information that's in the two documents and that's been previously published about Face ID. One of Franken's questions, for example, concerned how Face ID was trained, with Apple's response below:
The accessibility of the product to people of diverse races and ethnicities was very important to us. Face ID uses facial matching neural networks that we developed using over a billion images, including IR and depth images collected in studies conducted with the participants' informed consent.Hogan ends the letter with an offer to provide Senator Franken with briefings on Apple products should additional information be required.
We worked with participants from around the world to include a representative group of people accounting for gender, age, ethnicity, and other factors. We augmented studies as needed to provide a high degree of accuracy for a diverse range of users. In addition, a neural network that is trained to spot and resist spoofing defends against attempts to unlock your phone with photos or masks.
Following his receipt of the letter, Franken today issued a statement where he said he appreciates Apple's willingness to provide information on Face ID.
All the time, we learn about and actually experience new technologies and innovations that just a few years back were difficult to even imagine. While these developments are often great for families, businesses, and our economy, they also raise important questions about how we protect what I believe are among the most pressing issues facing consumers: privacy and security.In addition to offering up a Face ID white paper and detailed support document, Apple has also provided information on Face ID through a series of interviews software engineering chief Craig Federighi did with various media sites.
I appreciate Apple's willingness to engage with my office on these issues, and I'm glad to see the steps that the company has taken to address consumer privacy and security concerns.
I plan to follow up with Apple to find out more about how it plans to protect the data of customers who decide to use the latest generation of iPhone's facial recognition technology.
Face ID will be available to consumers starting on November 3, the official launch date for the iPhone X. Apple plans to begin accepting pre-orders for the iPhone X on October 27.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Tag: Face ID
[ 78 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
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23 months ago
Extremely disheartening that you read an article with a mature correspondence between a company and a politician who is on a committee concerning the very nature of the company's technology and you get this foolishness in the comments immediately.
23 months ago
Apple’s letter (short version):
Dear Al Franken,
Read the material.
Love,
Apple
Dear Al Franken,
Read the material.
Love,
Apple
23 months ago
This is how customer relations and public relations SHOULD respond to outside inquiries of products, services and development.
Well done Apple
Well done Apple
23 months ago
Reminder: Al Franken is the same clown that tried to go toe to toe with Gorsuch and looked like the fool that he is. Maybe he should go back to SNL. Make no mistake, Al is trolling and hoping this system doesn't work well with minorities so he can blast attack using identity politics. Just wait...it's coming.
23 months ago
Al Franken cares about privacy and security? That’s news in itself. ...Since when?
23 months ago
Al is trolling and hoping this system doesn't work well with minorities so he can blast attack using identity politics. Just wait...it's coming.
I don't see that coming at all. I assume that 3D Facial Mapping would work just fine with minorities, and that Apple would be smart enough and inclusive enough to test that.
I'm not even sure what "minorities" would mean to an international company in a global market. Anyone that isn't Han Chinese?
23 months ago
Surprised this thread is not in the politics section? It's only going to go in one direction.
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