Charting the Skies : Where Does Facial Recognition Technology 'Fit' in the Data Privacy Cosmos?

Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), in its current and future incarnations, poses complex and intellectually challenging questions for private companies, law enforcement agencies, legislatures and the courts. This article presents a theoretical rubric or map upon which FRT may appropriately be "plotted." After identifying three metrics by which any new data mining and analysis technology can be assessed, the article discusses a series of judicial precedents in an effort to describe a "constellation" of illuminated guideposts that delineate that rubric. The article concludes that the capture and computer-aided analysis of facial images, for either private or governmental use, poses challenging and multi-variable issues requiring nuanced balancing of personal privacy and public utility interests