FBI’s Resists Providing Required Privacy Report in Face-Recognition System
GAO recommended the Attorney General look into why required privacy impact reports were not published by the FBI. It also asked the FBI to conduct tests on the system to determine its accuracy and false positive rates, hold annual reviews of the NGI system and audit each database used by the FACE system to determine if they’re accurate enough for FBI searches.
In its reply to the report, the Department of Justice said any photos returned as possible matches are not considered positive identification, and are not sufficient to warrant action on their own. It’s only used for “investigative leads,” according to the DoJ.
The GAO investigation was requested by U.S. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota.
“Facial recognition technology is a new and powerful tool that holds great promise for law enforcement. But if we don’t ensure its accuracy and guard against misuse, I am concerned about the risk of innocent Americans being inadvertently swept up in criminal investigations,” said Franken in a statement.