Like out of a sci-fi movie, the FBI is using this advanced technology. It seems cool. But not everyone is cool with it, like the ACLU. Will this futuristic approach bump up against legal challenges?
By MIKE BAKER
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. – In its search for fugitives, the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver’s license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes.
The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for more criminals and possibly to expand the effort nationwide. But privacy advocates worry that the method allows authorities to track people who have done nothing wrong.
“Everybody’s participating, essentially, in a virtual lineup by getting a driver’s license,” said Christopher Calabrese, an attorney who focuses on privacy issues at the American Civil Liberties Union.