PimEyes Blocks Searches of Minors Amid Privacy Concern

PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine, has officially banned searches of minors due to concerns about privacy and potential abuse by malicious users. The CEO, Giorgi Gobronidze, announced that the company has implemented an AI age-detection system to detect and block searches of minors. This move aims to prevent the misuse of children's images online, such as by pedophiles and child predators.

The company's data security unit has already detected and banned over 200 accounts conducting inappropriate searches of children's faces out of the 118,000 daily searches on PimEyes' database. While PimEyes is designed to help people find their own photos online, it lacks the ability to prevent others from searching for photos of different individuals.

The age-detection system is still being improved, with better success in blocking searches of minors under 14 compared to teenagers. However, a test using a childhood photo of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen revealed that PimEyes can still be fooled, highlighting some limitations.

This update is intended to enhance platform safety but also prevents parents from using the technology to find photos of their children online. Online human rights organizations will be allowed to search for photos of minors, but other searches will be blocked.

PimEyes has faced criticism for its potential risks to children online, including the creation of deepfake videos and audio scams. Additionally, concerns about data privacy violations led to regulatory scrutiny in Europe. The company has been fined in several European countries.

Furthermore, the opt-out process for removing images from PimEyes' search results requires users to provide extensive personal information, which has raised privacy concerns and conflicts with the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union.

Despite being a subscription-based service, PimEyes offers a limited number of free daily searches, making the platform more accessible. While the company is making efforts to improve its detection system and address privacy concerns, it remains a topic of debate in the context of data privacy and online security.