Viral and controversial application: now member of the US Congress asks the FBI to investigate FaceApp

FaceApp is the big viral success of the month. If you are one of the few who does not know, this is an application with a series of filters to apply to photos, which is highlighted by the function age of faces in seconds with sometimes disturbing results, sometimes funny and almost always convincing.

As we have in TN TecnoIn addition to virality and fun, this tool has a controversial facet. It was established in 2017 by a Russian company based in St. Petersburg and has a long history of scandals. Allegations of racism Critical for the use of user data.

Democrat's demand

At the height of FaceApp's popularity, a US Congressman Calls for Further Investigation. It is about Chuck Schumer, who is a senator from the Democratic Party of New York, and sent a public letter asking that the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study methods of Russian application.

"The FBI and the FTC need to badyze the risks related to security and privacy now (in the application) because millions of Americans have used it.It belongs to a society based Users in Russia must provide full and irrevocable access to their photos and personal data, "said Schumer in the tweet, where he added the letter addressed to the authorities of these agencies in the United States.

The Congressman argues that FaceApp badumes "serious concerns both for the protection of information obtained"and emphasizes that users need to know who has access to the data they share.

According to the report of CNN, the FTC confirmed receipt of the order, but as the FBI decided not to make public comments about it. Although the company that developed the app said that "most pictures are deleted after 48 hours," the controversy persists.

Cristian Borghello, director of Segu-Info, said in statements at Telam agency: "Everything is half gray, we do not know how the back works (…) It's a bitter proposition, but that's what we should do whenever we upload personal data. They could use the information we put online, for example for biometric identification. Behind that can be anyone, a company or a government, "he said.