Clear Storage: The Ethics of Deletion Policies for Stored Facial Images

Although the topic of facial recognition is uncomfortable, hearing of its application in a place associated with child-like innocence was particularly jarring to those concerned about the Disney Company violating their privacy. It should be noted that, in Disney's case, guests uncomfortable with facial scanners could opt for a less invasive ticket scan and there are no reports of the technology being implemented in a non-voluntary manner. However, not all companies allow customers to opt out of facial data collection. In July The Verge reported that Lowe's, Macy's and Ace Hardware all currently employ facial recognition algorithms, while McDonalds, Walgreens and even 7–11 are considering using facial recognition in the future. Although that may sound scary, there is nothing illegal about the practice, since facial recognition techniques are unregulated in the U.S. and throughout most of the world.