SoK: Anti-Facial Recognition Technology
Emily Wenger
Shawn Shan
Haitao Zheng
Ben Y. Zhao
Proceedings of IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (Oakland 2023)
[Full Text in PDF Format, 901KB]
Paper Abstract
The rapid adoption of facial recognition (FR) technology by both government and commercial entities in
recent years has raised concerns about civil liberties and privacy. In response, a broad suite of so-called
"anti-facial recognition" (AFR) tools has been developed to help users avoid unwanted facial recognition.
The set of AFR tools proposed in the last few years is wide-ranging and rapidly evolving, necessitating a
step back to consider the broader design space of AFR systems and long-term challenges. This paper aims to
fill that gap and provides the first comprehensive analysis of the AFR research landscape. Using the
operational stages of FR systems as a starting point, we create a systematic framework for analyzing the
benefits and tradeoffs of different AFR approaches. We then consider both technical and social challenges
facing AFR tools and propose directions for future research in this field.