Furthermore, the Commissioned alleged that the Everalbum deceived users about the deletion of Ever users’ photos and videos upon deactivation. Instead, the company saved them indefinitely.
Its action is a violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
In a statement, Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, “Using facial recognition, companies can turn photos of your loved ones into sensitive biometric data. Ensuring that companies keep their promises to customers about how they use and handle biometric data will continue to be a high priority for the FTC.”
Terms of the proposed settlement between Everalbum and the FTC
Everalbum reached a settlement agreement with the Commission to resolve its violation.
Under the settlement, the FTC also required the company to delete:
- the photos and videos of Ever app users who deactivated their accounts;
- all face embeddings—data reflecting facial features that can be used for facial recognition purposes—the company derived from the photos of Ever users who did not give their express consent to their use; and
- any facial recognition models or algorithms developed with Ever users’ photos or videos.
The FTC also prohibited Everalbum from misrepresenting how it collects, uses, discloses, maintains, or deletes personal information, including face embeddings created with the use of facial recognition technology.
