The San Diego regional planning agency, SANDAG, has been quietly rolling out a new mobile face recognition system that will sharply change how police conduct simple stops on Americans. The system, which allows officers to use mobile devices to collect face images out in the field, already has a database of 1.4 million images and serves nearly 25 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the region. Full Article
Also: Facial recognition, once a battlefield tool, lands in San Diego County
If they want to do this, they will need to figure out how to keep hackers and government officials from placing people into the system with false flags and history. Once someone places you into the system, you are screwed. Game over. Might be time to drive around with a ski mask on. (Is that a crime?)
Personally I am more worried about Google Glass. Imagine everyone walking around with these things on and, with facial recognition enabled, screen-pops ID every face they encounter. There are obvious HUGE privacy concerns here – you don’t need the potential stalker taking an interest in your wife, sister or daughter, then easily finding her on FB, hoe address, etc.
While I would predict a wide-open FR to be banned (I think it already is), I could see a limited version made available that will only ID people on society sh** lists.
Geez, that’s scary. I didn’t even think of that, and that’s totally within reach NOW. Imagine registry clone websites (Such as the mugshot extortion types), using off the shelf, open source software to create hashes from existing photos, then publish apps for phones and websites that “auto tag” or alert you when a person’s face comes into view on the app service, or when a photo appears on the web somewhere. It’s totally doable. We need to start working on ways to keep this from happening, because it can totally be done NOW, in days or weeks an app can… Read more »
One of the many problems with this is that it can substitute for actual investigation. Say someone is walking down the street and an alarm goes off in a store he just walked by. Police roll up on reports that a man has exposed himself in the store. Taking a picture of the man walking by, they discover he is a 290 registrant. Case solved. Take him to the station. Later on review of the store camera reveals they got the wrong man. Doesn’t even show up in any database. Dissapeared while arresting the wrong man. Oh well, though, fun… Read more »
I finally have a reason to wear my Mexican luchador mask all the time! Viva El Diablo Blanco en San Diego!!!!