Schumer calls for FaceApp probe

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is asking the FBI and Federal Trade Commission to investigate FaceApp, a viral photo-aging tool that is sparking privacy concerns.

Schumer sent a letter on Wednesday to FBI Director Christopher Wray and FTC Chairman Joseph Simons saying he was concerned that the app, which is headquartered in Russia, “could pose national security and privacy risks for millions of U.S. citizens.”

“In the age of facial recognition technology as both a surveillance and security use, it is essential that users have the information they need to ensure their personal and biometric data remains secure, including from hostile foreign governments,” Schumer wrote.

Schumer is asking the FTC to determine if there are “adequate safeguards” in place to prevent Americans’ privacy from being compromised and, if not, to publicly disclose that.

He separately wants the FBI to find out if data being uploaded to FaceApp by Americans is “finding its way into the hands” of Russia’s government or companies with ties to the government.