Facebook will end their use of facial recognition technology

According to Reuters, Facebook cited their concerns over how this technology is being used as justification for this decision. Previously, Facebook used facial technology to identify users in photos.

"Regulators are still in the process of providing a clear set of rules governing its use," said a top Facebook official.

"Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate," they added.

Facial recognition technology has been criticized for eroding privacy and for permitting a new level of mass surveillance. It is worth noting that Facebook has made this decision after significant scrutiny over its practices during the last decade.

This change will delete over a billion facial recognition templates instantly that Facebook has been collecting since the program started.

This process will begin in December of this year.

This technology will still be used for some features on Facebook. These include helping users retrieve a locked account and unlocking personal devices.