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Interpol Pushing World Facial Recognition Database

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the here's-lookin-at-you dept.

The Register is reporting that according to some reports, Interpol will soon be pushing for a world-wide facial recognition database at the borders of all member nations. "The UK already has airport gates equipped with such technology, intended to remove the need for a human border guard to check that a passenger's face matches the one recorded in his or her passport. According to the Guardian, Interpol database chief Mark Branchflower believes that his organization should set up a database of facial-recognition records to operate alongside its existing photo, fingerprint and DNA files."

4 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. There Already Is One by ewhac · · Score: 5, Interesting
    It's called "FaceBook".

    Why do you think they have that "tagging" feature for the photos? Didn't you know all this time that you've been training their face recognition database?

    Schwab

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    Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
  2. Obligatory John Woo... by TiggertheMad · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...I want to take his FACE OFF...

    No more drugs for this man!

    So, jesting aside, how will this work with cosmetic surgery? Will celebrities getting cosmetic work abroad no longer be identified correctly? Will actual terrorists suddenly become interested in elective procedures just to fool the system? How will the system deal with the fact that people change as they age? Interesting questions.

    I wonder if this will become a legitimate tool for law enforcement, or if it will be yet another big brother tool.

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    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  3. Ironic by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Seems ironic to me that we have the international law-enforcement agencies as well as a ton of cross-border data and system sharing agreements all intended to stop people from crossing the borders themselves. They want information about us to be world wide but they don't want us to be world wide.

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    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  4. Well, I'm screwed by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Federal government has my photo from my passport stored somewhere.

    It has my DNA from my stint in the Army.

    It has has my fingerprints from security clearance applications and several FBI background checks I've had to go through to be a teacher.

    My only solace is, in all of my photos for federal documents I'm frowning like an NFL star posing for a picture, and on all my Facebook pictures I'm smiling.

    Though when it comes down to it, if the government goes to crap, I'm screwed.

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    The Internet is generally stupid