Facial Recognition Systems: . In commercial use yet? . Significant growth industry?

[DunbarPappy®ϟϟ]

The use of 'security cams' is rampant everywhere; both private and government making the collections, to be either stored locally and/or transmitted to another collection point.
Facial recognition software is readily available*, some free, so it's little effort to freeze-frame individuals & run checks against known databases.
Those who have knowingly identified themselves (via YouTube, Facebook, etc.) or their friends revealing a name-to-face association, are probably already in a database somewhere.
Since EVERYTHING you do any more is being monitored & recorded, it can all be compiled by someone somewhere**: the question is: who has control of the data?
[System Links Your Face to Your Social Security Number and Other Private Things
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/ar...hings.html ]
The US is almost devoid of control or regulation of this snooping (private or govt.), but Europe seems to at least be making efforts to shield privacy.
Interestingly, the head of Google (the most snoop inclined entity on the face of the globe), thinks snooping is just fine...as long as it's not him.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/15/...nes_nimby/

Directed advertising is not my big concern...it's not knowing who has all my data and to what ends will it eventually be leveraged.
We've seen the "targeting" by the most feared agency in the US (the IRS vs conservatives), so there is a perfectly luminous case of over-reach and Constitutional violations.

It all gets down to who controls the database. And for me...I wallflower as much as possible.

* Google unveils 'Find My Face' tool for Google+ https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/...onomyId=17
**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_aggregator
For more on snooping & your rights, see the EFF website...very good.
https://www.eff.org/
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Added; FBI on the prowl with biometrics: https://epic.org/foia/fbi/ngi/