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Orlando Police Decide To Keep Testing Controversial Amazon Facial Recognition Program (gizmodo.com)

Despite previous reports that the program has been ended, the Orlando Police Department in Florida is planning to continue its test of Amazon's real-time facial recognition system. "News of OPD supposedly ending its use of Rekognition on footage captured by a number of CCTV cameras came just a day after the ACLU sent a letter to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer regarding the face recognition program," reports Gizmodo. "But the end date for the initial pilot period had already been selected -- it just happened to coincide with the ACLU's report and the ensuing backlash from civil rights groups." From the report: While the original test period ended, the OPD will soon sit down with Amazon representatives to outline the new pilot, the police department told the Orlando Sentinel. "It's really to prevent the next tragedy," Orlando Police Chief John Mina said. Now, with the program set to continue, Dyer says the practice is not as dystopian as it seems.

Details on the new pilot are sparse. OPD confirmed it will test Rekognition on at least eight cameras, as it did before, though their location isn't known. In the previous trial program, five Rekognition-enabled cameras captured footage at OPD headquarters, while three additional cameras were positioned in downtown Orlando. During its initial testing phase, Rekognition will scan officers' faces against a face database made up of volunteers. The plan, the OPD memo explains, is for officers themselves to walk in front of the cameras and record how accurately the technology recognizes them from different angles, with different clothes, or other variables. It's not known how long this initial testing phase will last, though the city plans to draft proposed regulations before any public rollout begins. It's worth noting that pilot itself requires no public approval and Dyer has wholeheartedly supported Rekognition. "No images of the public will be used for any testing," OPD said in a statement.

23 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. is the Orlando city council up for election by Presto+Vivace · · Score: 1

    this year? vote them out.

  2. They'll never ID me... by Miles_O'Toole · · Score: 1

    I think I know how to defeat this system...

    Dickishly

    --
    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
  3. Re:Think of it as by PeopleAquarium · · Score: 1

    This was sarcasm, right?

  4. Re:Think of it as by cavreader · · Score: 1

    It included a fairly good list of what facial recognition could be used for if taken to extremes. The big question is whether or not you have the expectation of privacy when walking around in public.

  5. homicides by backslashdot · · Score: 1

    In principle I am in favor, but will this make us safer? I doubt it. They aren't going to arrest any dangerous criminals with this .. they will waste their time catching people with traffic citations. Think about it, who would YOU rather waste time arresting?

  6. Re:Think of it as by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Having CCTV alert to every faced detected from every driver license id picture in the USA would not be much use given police and contractor numbers to respond in real time.
    A passive system that detects a face and ensures its has federal and state/city id.
    Load the detection software with criminals and illegal migrants using created/fake/shared photo ID.
    Faces who cant be detected due to active avoidance methods eg fashion, allergy mask, mask to hide identity to riot with.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  7. Re: Think of it as by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Until the streets are clean as most normal cities and safe AC.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  8. Re:What are you afraid of? by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

    If you arent a criminal it doesn't affect you.

    You forgot your Sarcasm tag.

    What? Oh...

  9. Re:The War On Us by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

    How did protect-and-serve end up being us vs them?

    Oh, you think there was a time when it wasn't?

    How cute.

  10. Re:The War On Us by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 1

    They did not tell you who they protect and serve.

    --
    Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
  11. Orlando Police by alxc · · Score: 1

    All your faces are belong to us.

  12. Re: What are you afraid of? by Type44Q · · Score: 1
    And if you're illiterate (and/or a government shill), clearly history doesn't affect you.

    Fucking inbred.

  13. OPM by packrat0x · · Score: 1

    This project isn't about improving the police, it's about spending "Other People's Money" on campaign contributors.

    --
    227-3517
  14. Re:What are you afraid of? by kilfarsnar · · Score: 1

    If you arent a criminal it doesn't affect you.

    Define criminal, and then somehow convince me that definition will never change.

    --
    "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
  15. Its still going by TechMaster321 · · Score: 1

    After all of whats happened, who is the program still continuing?

  16. Re:Think of it as by Bryansix · · Score: 1

    You realize the police can legally follow you around anywhere you go in public right? They just don't do so now as a matter of resource restraints.

  17. Re:Think of it as by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    An instant real time visual "DNA test" for criminal people.

    If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever.

    With much less crime, no dumping of trash on clean streets, no parked RV, no tent cities any city can then attract new jobs and investment.

    I'm just waiting for your modest proposal for what we should do with the homeless, who are currently at numbers not seen since the great depression.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  18. Re:What are you afraid of? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    Maybe you don't understand the meaning of the word "affect". Will your face be scanned? Yes. Will you be affected? Nope.

    That assumes 1) that there will not be false positives and 2) that police will not act on false positives. These are both wholly unwarranted views, proven false by past experience which you are willfully ignoring.

    I'm not sure what the problem is here.

    Your willful ignorance.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  19. Re:Think of it as by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Why non-criminals AC? The easy way around that is just to set up a state/federal task force.
    No non-criminals exist in a federal database at any time. No non-criminal database is ever created federally.

    A state can allow the US federal gov to work on data within its own state collection of criminal data sets.
    At no time did the US federal gov, mil / other agency copy out any data. All the data stated in that state when advanced software found a criminal in that state in real time.
    Do that all over the USA and ensure every state has its own real time database. Federal privacy is still protected. Every state is fully equipped to scan every face against state criminal data sets in real time.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  20. Re:Think of it as by ArylAkamov · · Score: 1

    Username checks out

  21. Re:What are you afraid of? by Bryansix · · Score: 1

    Guy, the police have a lot more false positives when they simply try to find people themselves. The software will probably reduce false positives.

  22. Re:What are you afraid of? by Bryansix · · Score: 1

    That's an interesting hypothesis. Now if only you could test it and see if it was true.

  23. Re:Think of it as by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Once they get the cost of collect it all and voice prints with a nice GUI down to a per year city police software rental price.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"