Google has decided to ban facial-recognition technology from its Google Glass product, following pressure from the U.S. Congress. It has also banned voiceprints, which would allow the microphone to identify a speaker. App developers—including Lance Nanek, who built an app that would allow clinicians wearing the glasses to verify patient identities and pull their medical records without having to turn to a secondary device—are disappointed in the decision. The company says it will not allow such applications until “strong privacy protections” are in place, but the Future of Privacy Forum wonders “what sort of privacy protections can actually be put in place for this sort of technology?”
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