The growing use of facial recognition technology raises serious privacy and civil liberties concerns, said Senator Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's privacy subcommittee. Franken, during a subcommittee hearing, called on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Facebook to change the way they use facial recognition technology.

Biometric information, including facial features, is sensitive because it is unique and permanent, Franken said.

"I believe that we have a fundamental right to control our private information," he said. "You can change your password, you can get a new credit card, but you can't change your fingerprint, and you can't change your face, unless you go to a great deal of trouble."

There are currently no U.S. laws limiting government agencies or private companies from using facial recognition, witnesses said. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security already have huge biometric databases and are adding facial data, and Facebook users are uploading 300 million photos a day, said Jennifer Lynch, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

"Many Americans don't even realize that they're already in a facial recognition database," Lynch said. "Facial recognition allows for convert, remote and mass capture of identification and images."