FBI’s Vast Facial Recognition Database More Likely to Misidentify Innocent Blacks as Suspects

‘In 2010, the FBI launched Next Generation Identification, a sprawling, complex program designed to use biometric tools like facial recognition, finger and palm prints, and iris scans in criminal investigations. At the time, privacy advocates worried that the FBI would collect and use the data without adequate oversight or privacy protections, especially given the rapid advances in facial recognition technology.
Last week, a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform found that privacy experts were right to be concerned: the FBI uses facial recognition without complying with privacy laws; 1 out of every 2 Americans’ photo is in some kind of FRT database; and facial recognition technology can reproduce race and gender bias, “misidentifying female and African American individuals at a higher rate.”
Jennifer Lynch, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, testified about all the ways that police can use—and misuse—facial recognition.’
Read more: FBI’s Vast Facial Recognition Database More Likely to Misidentify Innocent Blacks as Suspects