In an article for the ACLU, director Kade Crockford explains the use of facial recognition data (as well as data on our irises, walking patterns, and voices) by the FBI. Apparently, the use of this technology, along with a database of over 600 million images on adults living in the US, is growing without sufficient transparency for the agency to be held accountable.
Crockford highlights several problems that should concern us. First, he recounts the activities to suppress political activism that characterize much of the earlier history of the FBI. Second, he explains the limitations and problems of the using facial recognition, most notably the discriminatory impact on certain groups.
The ACLU has asked a federal court to require the FBI and related agencies to turn over all records related to the use of facial recognition technology. It is worth noting that the evolving standards for the use of data by government agencies would embrace the kind of transparency requested, and make it a requirement for the use of the technology and the data it generates.
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