Amazon is testing various methods to streamline seller identity verification, including facial recognition.
Facial recognition is a controversial technology, with critics raising concerns over privacy, security, racial profiling, and more. That isn’t stopping Amazon from testing the technology as a way to speed up and simply seller verification.
The company announced its intentions in a blog post:
Today, we are starting to test a new, optional experience for prospective sellers that uses forgery detection, facial recognition, and liveness detection technology to quickly verify the authenticity of government-issued identity documents and whether they match the individual applying to sell in our store. Our test will determine whether we can achieve the same robustness of identity verification as our current processes while also providing a better experience for sellers who choose this verification process.
Companies and organizations that have tried to roll out facial recognition for identify verification have quickly learned of the pitfalls involved. The IRS infamously tried to enforce the use of facial recognition for online accounts, only to backtrack over the backlash it received.