FBI Facial Recognition System

Main article: FBI

2019

US Congress: FBI daily violates the rights of millions of people using facial recognition systems

The US Congress suspected the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of illegally tracking millions of people using automatic facial recognition technologies, Forbes writes in June 2019 . According to the Lower House Oversight Committee, the feds could for several years almost daily violate the privacy rights of US citizens and guests of the country^[1]

As members of the Committee noted, they came to this conclusion based on the report of the profile department of the US Accounts Chamber, in which the FBI is directly accused of violating instructions when using an automatic face recognition system.

As of June 2019, the FBI has access to more than 641 million images containing sensitive personal information belonging to US citizens. This includes, among other things, photographs of a driver's license, scan copies of passports and other identity documents. Moreover, the recognition system itself has its own database, and when identifying a person from images, it is checked directly with it.

The work of this system is still far from perfect, and, in addition to the fact that personal data can be accessed, in theory, by any employee of the Bureau, it also shows low efficiency. Among the difficulties faced by technology algorithms is the problem of comparing photos of black women and men.

Creating a system based on drivers' photo base

July 7, 2019 it became known that US federal law enforcement agencies use photos of drivers to create an unofficial face recognition system.

According to the Washington Post (WP), citing data from Georgetown  University  Law  Center, the FBI     and the US Immigration and Customs Police are scanning hundreds of millions of images from the databases of the State Departments of Vehicle Registration (DMV) in order to develop new video surveillance software.

FBI uses driver photos to create unofficial facial recognition system

The FBI received the data of millions of Americans without their consent. According to the publication, the special services use this information to monitor US residents.

Law enforcement agencies have long had access to fingerprints, DNA and other biometric data taken from suspected criminals. However, transport department databases contain photographs of an overwhelming number of state residents, most of whom have never been charged with crimes.

By July 2019, 21 states, including Texas and Pennsylvania, allow federal authorities to access data without a court order. A notable exception is Washington State.

House Chairman Elijah  Cummings told WP that law enforcement agencies gain access to state databases, including DMV, "often without public publicity and without consent."

Claire Garvey, lead privacy and technology lawyer at Georgetown University Law Center, says the state is facilitating access to this information.

For me, this is a crazy abuse of trust when they change hands and allow     the US Immigration and Customs Police access to this data, "she said[2]

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