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

[DIYguy]

QUESTION #1

Here in 2014 . . .

. . . Suppose a person walks into a business or commerical establishment [I'm thinking here of all the major corporate chains, big-boxes, eateries, franchises, etc] that has a video camera running

. . . What are the chances that a computer is uploading their facial image data to a corporate data-center,

[and maybe supplemented by uploading any smart-phone ID-data they may be capable of detecting]

. . . And then logging their visit and any purchases they make into a consumer shopping-history database

. . . And then sending them promotional or advertising emails (all within seconds or minutes)

If the person has not explicitly agreed to allow this, to what extent are such practices legal or illegal?

QUESTION #2:

Is this type of use of facial recognition systems simply inevitable with the onslaught of the technology, and pointless to get worried about?

Or is something that so many people will likely strenuously object to that it will be effectively regulated, and limited to only those people who agree to it?

[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/