Interpol Pushing World Facial Recognition Database

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."

Comments

There Already Is One

[ewhac]

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

Re:There Already Is One

[bill_mcgonigle]

Here's a fairly balanced article on the CIA/Facebook connection.

Re:There Already Is One

[bill_mcgonigle]

"Arrest him! On Facebook it says he's a Libertarian. We can't have these free-thinkers running around!"

Once upon a time commitment to American principles made one a patriot. Now blind support of all government policies is required.

Re:There Already Is One

[Hoi Polloi]

This is why everyone should use goatse as their facebook image.

"Sir, according to the records at the CIA this guy is a huge asshole."

Re:There Already Is One

[OldSoldier]

I try to envision the right model for security and privacy as small town America. In this model everyone knows everyone else and for the most part, when you see your neighbor, he/she sees you.

Extrapolating this to the modern world, a world-wide facial recognition database would be compatible if the following additional conditions were met:
a) everyone had access to it (Everyone knows everyone else)
b) it was trivially easy to see where the cameras were (when you see me, I see you)
c) cameras were only in a relatively few number of places. (when I'm behind "closed doors" I'm out of public view)

I'm not convinced governments can abide by these above rules, but if they could I'd be OK living in a world-wide "small town".

Re:There Already Is One

[k1e0x]

Once upon a time commitment to American principles made one a patriot. Now blind support of all government policies is required.

Yeah, the DHS had a pamphlet out that listed the Gadsden Flag as a symbol of domestic terrorism.

The line between patriotism and nationalism is a thin one.. but I believe that a nationalist is a blind patriot.

It really disturbs me when I hear John McCain talk about "Country first".. That is absolutely UN-American. Americans believe the individual needs are placed about the needs of the state. China is a place where the needs of the state come before those of the individual people, not America.

Re:There Already Is One

[PopeRatzo]

I'd be OK living in a world-wide "small town".

Me, I like to live in a world-wide "big city". I don't know if you've ever lived in "small town America", but if you happen to be a different color, ethnicity or sexual orientation from most of your other "small town neighbors" life can be an absolute hell. The problem is, there are lots of stupid, small-minded people in small towns AND big cities. But in small towns, where "everybody knows you" those stupid people can really fuck things up for you, whereas in a "big city" you can move to a part of town where there are others who are more openminded. Or (and this is important) you can just be anonymous.

This notion that somehow there is this suddenly emergent need for greater security is a complete load of bullshit being perpetrated on us by people who want to use this "security" to become more powerful.

If anything, I'd suggest that privacy and anonymity is more important now than it ever has been. I'll go a step further and say that cameras and databases are about the worst way to make a society "secure". The only people who become more "secure" are those in the security regime.

A big book of faces..

[onion2k]

A big database, kind of like a 'book', of everyone's face? Maybe with a stack of personal information? And make it really hard to take your details off?

Like we'd ever fall for that!

All Your Face...

[Nick Driver]

All Your Face Are Belong To Us!

Alternate Applications

[TripMaster Monkey]

I wonder how long it will be before this technology is utilized outside the airport gates...like, for example, with all of the myriad CCTV cameras currently infesting London.

What sort of resolution does this technology require? Could the technology be used on the CCTV images?

Re:Alternate Applications

[BlowHole666]

What sort of resolution does this technology require? Could the technology be used on the CCTV images?

I wonder if this could also help with my porn collection and help me figure who's face is in the random porn pictures I have.

Re:Alternate Applications

[larry bagina]

It's facial recognition software.

Wrong end

[larry bagina]

They need to develop ass recognition software, so they can track down the goatse guy and make him pay for all the suffering he's inflicted upon us.

what is the current accurcy rate?

[peter303]

Even 1% false positives or negatives in a huge application will lead to lots of problems.
An auxiliary question is whether machine accuracy exceeds humans. People make mistakes too.

Re:what is the current accurcy rate?

[rpmayhem]

I work for a local law enforcement agency that uses facial recognition systems. I don't work in that department, but I'm familiar with the systems. A few years ago, it was still really bad, but it's made large jumps in accuracy since that time. However, we usually have humans operating the cameras and computers, so it's always double checked. Everyone who gets booked into the jail is added to the facial recognition database. Then the officers on the road can use systems in their cars to take pictures of people and find their identity (a lot of people give us fake IDs, and a lot of those people have visited us before). Also, we have to ask permission before taking someone's picture on the street.

Anyway, even at the current level of accuracy, it can't operate really well without human assistance.

In other news...

[R2.0]

Supplies of Groucho glasses reach a all time low...

Opt-out Where You Can

[bill_mcgonigle]

On the New Hampshire Driver's License application/renewal form, there's a checkbox on the back that requires the State to delete your photo from its database after making the license. (Now that they're mailing the licenses though I have to wonder about their backup strategies.)

Do it where you can and get your legislature to require your DMV to do so if necessary. Also get them to reject RealID. If you can't, move here.

Obligatory

[Nerdposeur]

I, for one, welcome our international, face-recognizing over... Aw, wait a minute! No, that's creepy.

Obligatory John Woo...

[TiggertheMad]

...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.

Ironic

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

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.

Terrorist face recognition!

[Banekartr]

Does this facial recognition come with x-ray vision? How will it help with this? http://www.imcworldwide.org/blog/afghanistan/uploaded_images/IMG_0056-705316.JPG

Re:Terrorist face recognition!

[betterunixthanunix]

The 9/11 hijackers were not dressed in traditional middle eastern clothing. They were wearing run-of-the-mill business-casual clothing, which is why they were so successful -- they looked like normal travelers, and drew no attention to themselves at the airport.

Re:Terrorist face recognition!

[gnick]

Solution? Demand that all terrorists wear traditional middle eastern clothing. Even the abortion-clinic and McVeigh types.

It's not fool-proof, I admit -A lot of non-terrorists also wear traditional middle eastern clothing, and some may cry "profiling", but it's a good first step. Then, at security, the screeners can ask anyone in the right mode of dress, "Are you a terrorist?" The ones that say "Yes" are then arrested.

And then I can finally make it through line without taking off my shoes. Flawless.

Re:Not quite Big Brother

[betterunixthanunix]

Possible outcomes:

1. "Well, we have not caught any terrorists yet, but we spent a lot on this system. Let's use it to catch people who don't clean up after their dogs."
2. "You have been identified as a terrorist by the system, so you will need to remain in custody until a human can verify that you are not a terrorist."
3. "This system works so well, we should use it domestically!"
4. "Here's a list of people known to be against the war and probably planning to attend a protest in Washington DC; they shouldn't be allowed to fly."

Surveillance is a slippery slope.

Well, I'm screwed

[interstellar_donkey]

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.

Re:What if I get a new scar?

[Stewie241]

How many times have you been mauled by a bear in the past 10 years?

1984

[andy1307]

Dear Brits: 1984 was a novel, not an instruction manual.

Re:Not quite Big Brother

[davegravy]

My picture is already taken all over the place if I go to the airport, this would take my picture and cross-check it with a database of known criminals, terrorists and fugitives.

...and store your picture in a non-terrorist database, and in the event that you join a revolutionary movement to overthrow your highly corrupt government move your entry into the terrorist list, providing a convenient means to locate and apprehend you. And I don't necessarily mean your government is corrupt today, just that it could one day be.

Your picture may be taken all over the place already, but citing this as a reason why the proposed system isn't big-brother-eque doesn't make much sense. If people already routinely defacated on your doorstep, would you be apathetic about a government proposal to defecate on your doorstep?