WASHINGTON – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against IntelliVision Technologies Corp., a San Jose-based company specializing in artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition software. The FTC alleges that IntelliVision made false and unsubstantiated claims regarding the absence of racial and gender biases in its technology.
The complaint by the FTC asserts that IntelliVision falsely advertised its software as having one of the highest accuracy rates in the market and as being capable of operating without gender or racial bias. The agency contends that the company did not have sufficient evidence to support these claims.
According to the FTC, IntelliVision also inaccurately claimed to have trained its facial recognition system on millions of faces, while in reality, the technology was trained on a significantly smaller dataset. Additionally, the FTC challenges the company’s assertions about its anti-spoofing technology, which is supposed to prevent the system from being deceived by photos or video images.
Under a proposed consent order, IntelliVision would be prohibited from making any misrepresentations about the accuracy, effectiveness, or bias-free performance of its facial recognition software. The company would also be required to possess and rely on competent and reliable evidence when making claims about its technology’s capabilities.
This action represents the FTC’s second major case involving AI facial recognition technology in the past year. Previously, the FTC reached a settlement with Rite Aid (NYSE:), which banned the retailer from using facial recognition for surveillance purposes for five years due to concerns about the implementation of reasonable procedures and potential harm to consumers.
The FTC’s decision to issue the administrative complaint was unanimous, with all five commissioners voting in favor. The consent agreement will be open to public comment for 30 days following its publication in the Federal Register, after which the FTC will decide on finalizing the order.
This crackdown underscores the FTC’s commitment to ensuring that companies developing and utilizing AI systems adhere to truthful advertising principles and do not mislead consumers about the capabilities and limitations of their technologies. The information for this article is based on a press release statement.
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