Topic: Faceapp

Senator Chuck Schumer issued a public warning against the viral FaceApp, citing its Russian origins and potential for facial data to fall into the hands of the Kremlin. Critics point out that Schumer's privacy concerns are inconsistent, as major American social media companies use nearly identical terms of service.

The viral FaceApp, which uses AI to age users' faces, is criticized as a "spy app" designed to place advertising IDs and harvest data for brokers. While public concern focuses on Russian ownership, the real risk is the continuous monitoring of browser habits. This data is sold to financial institutions to refine systems that manage millennial student debt and consumer behavior.

The developers of FaceApp apologized after users discovered that the "hot" filter lightened skin tones, leading to accusations of racial bias in the app's neural network. Similar issues were noted with past Snapchat filters. Additionally, a new Chrome extension called "Soothe" was launched to help users avoid "triggering" content by blurring out specific words or images.