U.S. government agencies plan to increase the use of face recognition technology

Ten agencies are also working on research and development in this area, including the Departments of Justice, Defense, Homeland Security and the State. The agencies were divided into their targets, but some reported investigating the well-documented bias of many face recognition systems. The Department of Justice, for example, examined the relationship between skin tone and false match rates in facial recognition algorithms. Others, for example, were researching how to make systems more accurate, while scanning people wearing masks.

The report also showed extensive inter-agency coordination and extensive sharing of facial knowledge systems and information. Many federal agencies reported that state and local governments had acquired face recognition systems. The Department of Homeland Security said its information network “has a mechanism for requesting facial recognition from third parties through the listed state and local entities, such as through fusion centers.”

Spokesman for the nonprofit digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation He said: “This important GAO report reveals the federal government’s growing reliance on face care technology. The most worrying thing is the use of law enforcement agencies. that the government would not use face care at all. “

It was released in June by GAO a report about the face recognition capabilities of 42 federal agencies that employ law enforcement officials. He showed several law enforcement the agencies used facial recognition last summer after protests in racial justice and the January U.S. Capitol attack. The report also showed that 13 of the 42 agencies do not understand their own use of technology. BuzzFeed News reports show that it was likely the GAO report incomplete, five federal agencies said they did not use the Clearview AI system.

The adoption of technology is growing at all levels of government. Last March, Clearview AI said 3,100 About 18,000 U.S. federal, state, regional, and municipal law enforcement agencies — about 17 percent — have used its software.

There are no federal regulations in the U.S. regarding the use of face recognition technology for law enforcement. although the legislation provides. Many states and cities prohibit law enforcement and the use of government software, even though local bans do not prevent federal use.