Mike DeWine, didn’t bother informing the public about the plan to use drivers’ license data as a face recognition fishing pond.

www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty-national-security/ready-fire-aim-ohio-officials-implement-statewide-face [1]

I would think this information is in the public interest. More government snooping, prying, control without any public input.

The article starts out :

Two months ago, the state government in Ohio secretly implemented a face recognition program using the drivers’ license database to check against mug shots and images of suspects, a local newspaper has learned. Using public records law to obtain documents from the state AG’s office, the Cincinnati Enquirer found [2] that

Since June, police officers have performed 2,600 searches using the new database feature, which is designed to analyze a snapshot or, in some cases, security camera image, and identify the person by matching the photo with his or her driver’s license photo or police mug shot.

The AG, Mike DeWine, didn’t bother informing the public about the plan to use the drivers’ license database as a face recognition fishing pond.

The Cincinnati newspaper also found that the AG himself wasn’t aware that the system had been “turned on” until two weeks after police started using it, and had already queried it some 900 times.

What’s the big deal about a system like this? Haven’t police always had access to the images in the drivers’ license database? Sort of. The Enquirer explains:

People with access to the new system – Ohio’s law enforcement officers and civilian employees of police departments – could match any photo of people on the street to photos in the database and gain access to personal information.

Law enforcement officers have long been able to look up suspects’ driver’s license photos and mug shots, with laws outlining harsh penalties for misusing the records. But the facial recognition system opens up new avenues for misuse, even as it offers new opportunities for solving crimes.

Before the facial recognition system’s development, officers had to know a person’s name or address to find a photo. Now, with facial recognition, people with access to the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway can potentially identify any stranger they see or encounter, as long as they have a photo.