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The Secret Service Wants To Test Facial Recognition Around the White House (theverge.com)
The Secret Service is planning to test facial recognition surveillance around the White House, "with the goal of identifying 'subjects of interest' who might pose a threat to the president," reports The Verge. The document with the plans was published by the American Civil Liberties Union, describing "a test that would compare closed circuit video footage of public White House spaces against a database of images -- in this case, featuring employees who volunteered to be tracked." From the report: The test was scheduled to begin on November 19th and to end on August 30th, 2019. While it's running, film footage with a facial match will be saved, then confirmed by human evaluators and eventually deleted. The document acknowledges that running facial recognition technology on unaware visitors could be invasive, but it notes that the White House complex is already a "highly monitored area" and people can choose to avoid visiting. We don't know whether the test is actually in operation, however. "For operational security purposes we do not comment on the means and methods of how we conduct our protective operations," a spokesperson told The Verge.
The ACLU says that the current test seems appropriately narrow, but that it "crosses an important line by opening the door to the mass, suspicionless scrutiny of Americans on public sidewalks" -- like the road outside the White House. (The program's technology is supposed to analyze faces up to 20 yards from the camera.) "Face recognition is one of the most dangerous biometrics from a privacy standpoint because it can so easily be expanded and abused -- including by being deployed on a mass scale without people's knowledge or permission."
The ACLU says that the current test seems appropriately narrow, but that it "crosses an important line by opening the door to the mass, suspicionless scrutiny of Americans on public sidewalks" -- like the road outside the White House. (The program's technology is supposed to analyze faces up to 20 yards from the camera.) "Face recognition is one of the most dangerous biometrics from a privacy standpoint because it can so easily be expanded and abused -- including by being deployed on a mass scale without people's knowledge or permission."
to keep those White House visitor records a secret when everyone who visits is not only on camera, but matched to a database to boot.
With someone like Trump in office, it must be at least 10 times harder to keep people out who would want to kill him.
Any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
At least there are some nominal protections in how it's used not that the ACLU actually helps.
No wait, it's just a roadkill squirrel.
Computer: I've got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. [scans target]
Target: I reveal my Inmost Self unto my God: MAGA!
Computer: Sigh.
On the other hand, Facebook doesn't send a SWAT team into your house when you they think maybe you did something they don't like. Government has a legal monopoly on violence.
To ensure most nations diplomats still feel its safe to meet their US spies out in the open AC.
So US gov workers still thinks its ok to meet journalists.
That a US contractor still thinks nobody will notice them meeting a spy.
All the other government agency collection is still well hidden so everyone feels they are still safe.
Like the K9 team that ask for citizenship all around the US border.
The FBI camera placed in a utility pole.
Criminal people think its safe to wonder around outside with the most new cell phone as the "police" can get into its hidden data.
Most of the news is about ensuring people of interest keep doing what they do in the open under CCTV without changing their methods.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
I just figured they were already doing this. I mean why not?
Besides, if they were doing this are wanted to do this why would they even announce it. Just do it.
Anyone, scratch that, any American who would find a reason not to utilize this technology in and around the White House can GTFO in my opinion.
The White House, regardless of who currently resides there, is a sacred area of the USofA.
Thank goodness for the panopticon!
With this new CYBERNETIC TOTALITARIANISM technology we have completely eliminated crime and corruption from America! It's totally safe to walk in all parts of our major cities at night. Our politicians and regulators no longer accept suitcases full of cash. The city police no longer operate as a criminal gang, nor as an occupying army. Construction of inspectors no longer demand bribes, and certainly no longer have dealings with the mafia. Even potential jaywalkers shudder at the awesome power of COMPUTERIZED BIG BROTHER.
And best of all - there is no possible way this technology will be used for evil purposes!!
They even let people with orange faces into the White House.
It is just in the Oval Room, all guards enter and stop it!
.........
Ehm, sorry mr. President, our new terrorist facial recognition system still needs some minor modifications.
If you think this is just because of Trump, you may want to look back at the number of incidents which actually occurred when Obama lived there, including an armed intruder jumping the fence and actually ENTERING THE BUILDING and a mentally ill woman getting shot to death with a baby in her car after panicking, ramming the east entrance, and fleeing. Seriously, knock it off with the partisan shit. I know about 45% of the readers on this site blame Trump, Republicans, and straight white men for the entirety of the world's evils, but nutters being attracted to the White House are a completely non-partisan phenomenon.
Why not have every employee in the database and flag people who don't belong? They don't even have to scan guests if the system detects an unknown and that unknown is detected with an employee who has checked in a guest properly the odds of a breach are tremendously lowered. How can this be a new idea in an ultra-high security zone?
That better approach seems so obvious that this announcement seems like an excuse for weakened security. We'll see if a future incident is blamed on precisely this low level of observation. I guess we'll have that incident before next summer or not at all.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Protections? Have you heard of Edward Snowden?
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Brett Kavanaugh. The ACLU ran ads linking him with people who had been found guilty of rape either by their own words or were found guilty in court.