Indiana Bans Driver's License Smiles, For Security

Smelly Jeffrey writes "According to a recent article, Indiana BMV Communications Director Dennis Rosebrough states that applicants for a new or renewed operator's license or state identification card will no longer be allowed to smile and say cheese. Apparently new facial recognition software being employed by the state fails to function when the face is distorted by something as innocuous as smiling. Also on the list of taboos are hats, eyeglasses, and hair that hangs down over the face. The article fails to mention, however, the legality of beards, mustaches, and bushy eyebrows." Similar restrictions are in place for the Enhanced Driver License (which serves as a sort of limited passport) implemented by the state of Washington, among others.

Comments

As an Indiana resident...

[Gigiya]

I'd damn well like to keep my awkward smile on my driver's license!

Re:As an Indiana resident...

[Arthur Grumbine]

"In a recent modification of their assessment of the effects of the policy, the Indiana BMV has now estimated that 8 residents will be disappointed about the inability to smile..."

Re:As an Indiana resident...

[Cow Jones]

If you want a really embarrassing picture on your driver's license, you could always move to Virginia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owvO640ODwA

Re:As an Indiana resident...

[Skrapion]

"License and registration, please."

"Hold on, officer, I need to put on my eyebrows."

No license for Slash

[T.E.D.]

Also on the list of taboos are hats, eyeglasses, and hair that hangs down over the face.

So I guess Slash is out entirely.

Re:So to be a terrorist...

[Zordak]

Which is why Congress is, at this moment, working on the CAN-SMILE act, which will put a stop to smiling, along with other un-American behavior like being happy, being friendly, playing with your children, giving to charity, and staying out of debt.

Re:A testament to the technology

[tgd]

Its okay, terrorists never smile ...

The 2008 Luthor Act

[CommandoCody]

Also on the list of taboos are hats, eyeglasses...

Local reaction: Newspaper reporter Clark Kent was quoted as protesting this in the strongest possible terms, while wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne said he didn't really see this as a problem.

Terrorist's Toolkit available online !

[ciderVisor]

Amazon needs to be taken down under the Patriot Act:

http://www.amazon.com/Groucho-Glasses-Fake-Mustache-Brows/dp/B001HHECYU

Re:I'm glad I'm not a Hoosier

[multisync]

Note to the mods- "Hoosier" is not an insult

It's a sad comment on the state of Slashdot's moderation system when you have to preemptively explain a fairly common phrase you used because you have a reasonable expectation that someone will mistake it for "flamebait."

To take this even further off topic, our local hockey team is called "the Canucks," and the company I work for disperses season ticket amongst the sales staff to use for marketing purposes. The CEO recently complained that he had attempted to send an email three times, but nobody received it and he didn't get a bounce back. Turns out the nanny filters on the mail server quarantined his message due to a racial slur - he'd mentioned that the "Canucks" tickets were available.

Mustaches and other disguises

[Drakkenmensch]

Does having a long, 1900's mustache short-circuit computer face detection? If so, this means that Snidely Whiplash was a visionary with a keen sense of crinimal discretion. This would also confirm what I've always known - that Ned Flanders is a dangerous man on the run and that the Pringles guy is a criminal mastermind.

Re:hmmm, no.

[eln]

Well, that's a relief. At least as we descend into a totalitarianist police state, I can take comfort in the fact that the regime isn't technically fascist.

Re:A solution to this...

[Amarok.Org]

You've never been to Manhattan, have you?