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FBI Can Access Hundreds of Millions of Face Recognition Photos (eff.org)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via EFF: The federal Government Accountability Office published a report on the FBI's face recognition capabilities that says the FBI has access to hundreds of millions of photos. According to the GAO report, the FBI's Facial Analysis, Comparison, and Evaluation (FACE) Services unit not only has access to the FBI's Next Generation Identification (NGI) face recognition database of nearly 30 million civil and criminal mug shot photos, but it also has access to the State Department's Visa and Passport databases, the Defense Department's biometric database, and the drivers license databases of at least 16 states. This totals 411.9 million images, most of which are Americans and foreigners who have committed no crimes. In May, it was reported that the FBI is keeping information contained in the NGI database private and unavailable. It argues in a proposal that the database should be exempt from the Privacy Act.
If you join the military, you have to give your DNA (you have no choice).
This DNA is available to the FBI, all 50-states, and the EU, UK and AUS by means of information sharing agreements. Your DNA will be used to convict you regardless of any objection you might have if you ever are accused of a crime.
If they, or a sister agency that they could rely on, didn't have that capability, people would question their competence and use of taxpayer money.
What happens when someone who's not on a watch list commits a heinous crime on US soil, and law enforcement can't identify the person, unmasked, in good quality surveillance footage?
Citizens would say WTF. We can't even start our investigation.
Funny but in all seriousness paraphernalia to prevent facial recognition systems from working are going to pick up.
We can no longer trust our governments not to abuse data they collect and they already collect the data before it was even approved!
Some say it's already too late because of driver's licenses and passports but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Facial recognition is coming to a CCTV near you! if it's not already there. Minority report style tracking is not that far fetched in our lifetime.
It's the usual argument right, what do you have to hide? -so why can we not read all the FBI's internal memos? what do they have to hide?
I have nothing to hide but letting someone arbitrarily read my mail is not something I agree to. I don't give a shit if it's only my water bill, it's no ones fucking business but mine.
A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.