EPIC filed a FOIA lawsuit to obtain details of the FBI's massive biometric ID database.
EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the FBI to obtain documents about "Next Generation Identification," a massive database with biometric identifiers on millions of Americans.
The EPIC lawsuit follows the FBI's failure to respond to EPIC's earlier FOIA requests for technical specifications and contracts. According to EPIC's complaint, "When completed, the NGI system will be the largest biometric database in the world." NGI aggregates fingerprints, DNA profiles, iris scans, palm prints, voice identification profiles, photographs, and other identifying information. The FBI will use facial recognition to match images in the database against facial images obtained from CCTV and elsewhere.
According to a July 18, 2012 FBI report, “The NGI program—which is on scope, on schedule, on cost, and 60 percent deployed—is enabling the FBI to meet its criminal justice mission and continue to build its reputation as the global leader in biometrics.”
“NGI aggregates fingerprints, DNA profiles, iris scans, palm prints, voice identification profiles, photographs, and other identifying information,” according to EPIC, painting a troubling picture of what the system is capable of.
EPIC states that the FBI will use facial recognition technology – which has become unbelievably fast – to match images captured by surveillance cameras and other means with their massive database.
The FBI is sharing facial recognition technology with police departments across the United States and helps the centralized database grow even faster.
We should not assume, however, that it will only be used for matching static images with the gigantic centralized database.
If we can take a 2010 presentation by the FBI Biometric Center of Intelligence as any indicator, we can assume that it will be used for much more.
In the course of the presentation, the FBI stated that facial recognition could not only be used for “Identifying subjects in public datasets” but also for “conducting automated surveillance at lookout locations” and “tracking subject movements.”
“The NGI system could be integrated with other surveillance technology, such as Trapwire, that would enable real-time image-matching of live feeds from CCTV surveillance cameras,” EPIC states.
“The Department of Homeland Security has expended hundreds of millions of dollars to establish state and local surveillance systems, including CCTV cameras that record the routine activities of millions of individuals,” the group adds.
The picture begins to get quite grim when we consider these facts and bears more resemblance to science fiction than what most people like to think is reality.
“There are an estimated 30 million surveillance cameras in the United States,” EPIC continues. “The NGI system will be integrated with CCTV cameras operated by public agencies and private entities.”
Don’t forget, that is only the facial recognition aspect. In addition, handheld devices have been developed to allow police officers to conduct iris scans.
http://epic.org/2013/04/epic-sues-fbi-to-obtain-detail.html
http://endthelie.com/2013/04/09/epic-files-lawsuit-against-fbi-to-obtain-documents-about-massive-biometric-identification-database/#axzz2Q44zKr5q