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FBI uses questionable facial recognition software to comb vast photo database
Source: The Guardian
FBI uses questionable facial recognition software to comb vast photo database
FBI did not properly disclose privacy impact of storing 411m photos
and has no information on how often software returns false positives,
a new study finds
Sam Thielman in New York
Wednesday 15 June 2016 23.15 BST
The FBI maintains a huge database of more than 411m photos culled from sources including driver’s licenses, passport applications and visa applications, which it cross-references with photos of criminal suspects using largely untested and questionably accurate facial recognition software.
A study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released on Wednesday for the first time revealed the extent of the program, which had been queried several years before through a Freedom of Information Act request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The GAO, a watchdog office internal to the US federal government, found that the FBI did not appropriately disclose the database’s impact on public privacy until it audited the bureau in May.
The office recommended that the attorney general determine why the FBI did not obey the disclosure requirements, and that it conduct accuracy tests to determine whether the software is correctly cross-referencing driver’s licenses and passport photos with images of criminal suspects. The Department of Justice “disagreed” with three of the GAO’s six recommendations, according to the office, which affirmed their validity.
The audit came at the request of Minnesota Democratic senator Al Franken.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
FBI did not properly disclose privacy impact of storing 411m photos
and has no information on how often software returns false positives,
a new study finds
Sam Thielman in New York
Wednesday 15 June 2016 23.15 BST
The FBI maintains a huge database of more than 411m photos culled from sources including driver’s licenses, passport applications and visa applications, which it cross-references with photos of criminal suspects using largely untested and questionably accurate facial recognition software.
A study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released on Wednesday for the first time revealed the extent of the program, which had been queried several years before through a Freedom of Information Act request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The GAO, a watchdog office internal to the US federal government, found that the FBI did not appropriately disclose the database’s impact on public privacy until it audited the bureau in May.
The office recommended that the attorney general determine why the FBI did not obey the disclosure requirements, and that it conduct accuracy tests to determine whether the software is correctly cross-referencing driver’s licenses and passport photos with images of criminal suspects. The Department of Justice “disagreed” with three of the GAO’s six recommendations, according to the office, which affirmed their validity.
The audit came at the request of Minnesota Democratic senator Al Franken.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/15/fbi-facial-recognition-software-photo-database-privacy
