Facebook Inc. suspended for European users its automatic-photo-tagging feature in an effort to satisfy regulators who were concerned that the function, based on recognizing people’s faces, would harm privacy rights.
For Facebook, reports say, the suspension could impair its ability to profit from the data it collects about its user base, which estimates say is approaching 1 billion.
More broadly, The New York Times reported, the decision could affect how facial-recognition technology is used in public, for security and for marketing.
A statement from a Facebook official, quoted in media reports, said the company intended to bring back the tagging function once it fully complied with EU rules. The function enables Facebook users to automatically see the names of people in photos they upload and tag, or identify, them.