In the USA scandal over the IT system of intelligence agencies on recognition of a tattoo ran high

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) develops the IT system to recognition of tattoos which will allow to judge religious preferences, belonging to criminal groupings and political views of people on the permanent drawings applied on a body.

2017: Claim of human rights activists

Activists of Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) human rights organization are concerned by the project and are afraid that use of technology in practice will lead recognition of a tattoo to human rights violations. In November, 2017 human rights activists made the claim to Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of national security of the USA, having demanded that the authorities disclosed more information on the program.^[1]

2016: The second stage of the project

During the second stage of the project in 2016 scientists planned to add to the database 100 thousand more pictures of tattoos of the criminals made by law enforcement bodies in states Florida, Michigan and Tennessee reports Newsweek.^[2]

In the USA scandal over the IT system of recognition of a tattoo ran high

Tattoos are used already many years by law enforcement authorities for identification of persons of criminals and their victims, and scientists - in the research purposes. Tattoos provide valuable information on accessory and beliefs of the person, and help with identification of an individual — say in a NIST.

Within the NIST project it is supposed to increase efficiency and accuracy of algorithms which reveal coinciding photos of tattoos and also to minimize number of errors at assessment of similar tattoos.

2014: Beginning of creation of a system

According to the American edition The Hill, in 2014 specialists of National Institute of standards and technologies of the USA (The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a NIST) began a research with the purpose to improve software for recognition of tattoos to use the program for identification of people and their belonging to communities with similar drawings. In cooperation with FBI the database from 15 thousand pictures of tattoos which basis was formed by photos of prisoners of prisons and the delayed offenders was created.

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