Using state driver’s license databases, agents are scanning through millions of Americans’ faces without their knowledge or consent.
Police have always had access to fingerprints, DNA, and other “biometric data.” However, this data comes from criminal suspects. The agencies are now combing through DMV records that contain the photos of many of the state’s residents, most of whom have never been charged with a crime.
Researchers at Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology obtained the thousands of facial-recognition requests through public-records requests.
Neither Congress nor state legislatures have authorized the development of such a surveillance system.
Additional Resources
FBI, ICE find state driver’s license photos are a gold mine for facial-recognition searches, The Washington Post, July 7, 2019
Image credit: Shutterstock.com / metamorworks
