Facebook stalls in lawsuit alleging its facial recognition tech violates Illinois law

12-30-16 Illinois:

An Illinois law is proving a thorn in Facebook’s side as a class action lawsuit, alleging mishandling of biometric information, moves toward trial. The latest developments in the case have the social network objecting against releasing or even admitting the existence of all manner of data, but the plaintiffs aren’t taking “objection” for an answer.

The case revolves around a 2008 state law known as the Biometric Information Privacy Act. BIPA basically makes it illegal to collect or use biometric data, such as a “scan of hand or face geometry,” without rigorous disclosure of methods, intentions and guarantees regarding that data. The class action suit, filed in mid-2015, alleges that Facebook has knowingly failed to perform this disclosure for its many Illinois users.

Separate suits have been filed against Shutterfly, Snapchat and Google. The Shutterfly suit was settled, and Snapchat’s sent to arbitration. The Google case is technically ongoing, but the company argues that analysis of digital photos doesn’t count as biometric data, nor could an Illinois law prevent a California company from performing such analysis outside Illinois. Facebook has likewise fought the suit, aiming for dismissal under similar arguments.

The clear-headed Judge James Donato determined in May that while proceeding under California law was something users had agreed to, it was unenforceable, as it would amount to “a complete negation” of non-California protections such as those found in BIPA. And as for the idea that a “scan” must take place in person, he called that interpretation “cramped” and noted that the law itself is so worded as to potentially include such “emerging” methods as bulk digital analysis. So the case proceeded, and the parties at odds have fallen to squabbling over the details. ..Continued..

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Enhanced DMV facial recognition system leads to 100 arrests

8-30-2016 New York:

A man accused of filing for a driver’s license under a stolen identity, claiming to have never had a suspended or revoked license, turns out to have been arrested four times for alcohol-related offenses.

Another gaggle of alleged identity thieves – nearly two dozen – tweaked their names and dates of birth in order to get new taxpayer IDs with which they then got new licenses: a way to avoid paying higher insurance rates and/or skirt the fact that their old licenses had been suspended or revoked.

Those are just two of New York’s bragging rights, out of a total of more than 3,800 arrests for possessing multiple driving licenses that the state’s made since it implemented facial recognition technology in 2010.

And that’s only the beginning. Last week, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that refining the facial recognition program at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) has led to more than 100 arrests and 900 open cases since the enhanced system was launched in January.

The new system doubles the number of measurement points mapped to each digitized driver photograph – from 64 to 128 – to “vastly” improve the system’s ability to match a photograph to one that already exists in the DMV’s database.

The system also allows for the ability to overlay images, invert colors, and convert images to black and white to better see scars and identifying features on the face.

Different hair styles, glasses, and other features that change over time – including those that evolve as a subject ages – do not prevent the system from matching photographs.

The facial recognition program is designed to combat identity theft and fraud and to remove high-risk drivers from the roads.

Since 2010, some 10,800 facial recognition cases have been solved administratively, without the need for an arrest, according to the governor.

The announcement quotes Cuomo:

Facial recognition plays a critical role in keeping our communities safer by cracking down on individuals who break the law.

New York is leading the nation with this technology, and the results from our use of this enhanced technology are proof positive that its use is vital in making our roads safer and holding fraudsters accountable.

Reporting back in 2013, Police Chief magazine said that New York’s database of faces held about 21 million records, all with facial images.

At that time, there were 7,000 new photos being taken daily. Before any of those people gets a new driver’s license or non-driver ID, the DMV uses the facial recognition system to check their newly captured likeness against its big face database.

As of July 2015, at least 39 states were using facial recognition and reporting “remarkable” results, according to Governing magazine.

That includes populous Eastern states such as New York, with its thousands of arrests of identity fraudsters, and even a sparsely peopled state such Nebraska, which has arrested hundreds.

According to Ars Technica, New York’s DMV photo database isn’t among those forwarded to the FBI’s recently uncovered, massive face recognition database, which a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found has 30 million civil and criminal mug shot photos, along with the State Department’s Visa and Passport databases, the Defense Department’s biometric database, and the drivers license databases of at least 16 states.

In total, The FBI’s so-called Facial Analysis, Comparison, and Evaluation (FACE) Services unit has access to some 411.9 million images, most of which are of US people and foreigners who have committed no crime, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. ..Source.. by Lisa Vaas

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FTC Recommends Best Practices for Companies That Use Facial Recognition Technologies

10-25-2012 National:

Companies Using the Technologies Should Design Services with Consumer Privacy in Mind

The Federal Trade Commission today released a staff report "Facing Facts: Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial Recognition Technologies" for the increasing number of companies using facial recognition technologies, to help them protect consumers’ privacy as they use the technologies to create innovative new commercial products and services.

Facial recognition technologies have been adopted in a variety of contexts, ranging from online social networks and mobile apps to digital signs, the FTC staff report states. They have a number of potential uses, such as determining an individual’s age range and gender in order to deliver targeted advertising; assessing viewers’ emotions to see if they are engaged in a video game or a movie; or matching faces and identifying anonymous individuals in images.

Facial recognition also has raised a variety of privacy concerns because – for example – it holds the prospect of identifying anonymous individuals in public, and because the data collected may be susceptible to security breaches and hacking.

“Fortunately, the commercial use of facial recognition technologies is still young. This creates a unique opportunity to ensure that as this industry grows, it does so in a way that respects the privacy interests of consumers while preserving the beneficial uses the technology has to offer,” the FTC staff report ...continued... by FTC

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Caught in a dragnet

7-19-2011 Massachusetts:

A fraud prevention system erroneously revoked his license, and now he’s suing for his hardship

John H. Gass hadn’t had a traffic ticket in years, so the Natick resident was surprised this spring when he received a letter from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informing him to cease driving because his license had been revoked.

“I was shocked,’’ Gass said in a recent interview. “As far as I was concerned, I had done nothing wrong.’’

After frantic calls and a hearing with Registry officials, Gass learned the problem: An antiterrorism computerized facial recognition system that scans a database of millions of state driver’s license images had picked his as a possible fraud.

It turned out Gass was flagged because he looks like another driver, not because his image was being used to create a fake identity. His driving privileges were returned but, he alleges in a lawsuit, only after 10 days of bureaucratic wrangling to prove he is who he says he is.

And apparently, he has company. Last year, the facial recognition system picked out more than 1,000 cases that resulted in State Police investigations, officials say. And some of those people are guilty of nothing more than looking like someone else. Not all go through the long process that Gass says he endured, but each must visit the Registry with proof of their identity.

“We send out 1,500 suspension letters every day,’’ said Registrar Rachel Kaprielian, who says the system has been a powerful weapon to fight identity fraud since it was installed in 2006 but that it is not without problems. “There are mistakes that can be made.’’

Neither the Registry nor State Police keep tabs on the number of people wrongly tagged by the system. But Gass estimates in his lawsuit that hundreds might have received revocation notices in error since the system was installed.

“Theoretically this can happen again, depending on the whims of the computer,’’ said his lawyer, William Spallina.

Massachusetts began using the software after receiving a $1.5 million grant from the US Department of Homeland Security as part of an effort to prevent terrorism, reduce fraud, and improve the reliability and accuracy of personal identification documents that states issue.

At least 34 states are using such systems. They help authorities verify a person’s claimed identity and track down people who have multiple licenses under different aliases, such as underage people wanting to buy alcohol, people with previous license suspensions, and people with criminal records trying to evade the law. Lisa Cradit, a spokeswoman for L-1 Identity Solutions, the largest developer of the software, said it can reduce fraud by 80 percent.

The system looks at each driver’s license photograph stored in the state’s computers, mapping thousands of facial data points and generating algorithms that compare the images to others in the mathematical database, said State Police spokesman David Procopio. The software then displays licenses with similar-looking photographs - those with two or more images that have a high score for being the same person. Registry analysts review the licenses and check biographical information, criminal records, and drivers’ histories, in part to rule out cases with legitimate explanations, such as drivers who are identical twins.

Last year, State Police obtained 100 arrest warrants for fraudulent identity, and 1,860 licenses were revoked as a result of the software, according to Procopio.

“The advantage of securing the identity of 4 ½ million drivers is of considerable state interest, and that is what this software does,’’ Kaprielian said.

In Pennsylvania, which began using the system in 2007, officials say they have directed 1,500 cases of suspected fraud to police. New York detected roughly 3,500 instances of possible fraud, resulting in 600 arrests since a system was adopted in 2010.

“Our goal is one person, one license,’’ said Jackie McGinnis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Motor Vehicles in New York. “And this is a good way to detect people who have multiple licenses for multiple reasons.’’

Gass, 41, said his ordeal began April 5 after he retrieved his mail from a PO Box in Needham. The letter from the Registry, dated March 22, 2011, notified Gass that his license had been revoked April 1.

He said he called the Registry three times, explaining in vain that he had only recently opened his mail and that he could no longer work because he drives for a living. Registry employees told him that he was flagged because his license photo was similar in appearance to another driver, his lawsuit alleges. He was told that to clear up the problem he would have to show proof of his identity to the Registry, he said.

Gass got a hearing April 11 in the Department of Transportation offices at 10 Park Plaza. There, hearings officer Kevin M. Innes showed Gass a sheet of paper with images of Gass and Edward Perry of Rehoboth, who had also received a letter. By that time, Perry had already provided the Registry with documents confirming his identity.

Gass said in the suit that he provided his birth certificate and Social Security card as proof of his identity, but that Innes insisted that he provide documents with his current address. Gass’s lawyer Spallina said he faxed the document two days later.

On April 14, Spallina called to confirm that the Registry had received the papers and was told that Gass was cleared at the hearing to drive again.

Gass is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction blocking the Registry from revoking licenses without a hearing, arguing that his job requires driving and that he lost wages while he waited to have his license reinstated. He said he has no qualms with efforts to crack down on fraud but is miffed at how his case was handled.

“No one is angry about the work they have to do to track fraud, but once they saw the error, even the words sorry would go a long way. But I got nothing,’’ he said. “The overwhelming attitude was they couldn’t care less.’’

Kaprielian said the Registry gives drivers enough time to respond to the suspension letters and that it is the individual’s “burden’’ to clear up any confusion. She added that protecting the public far outweighs any inconvenience Gass or anyone else might experience.

“A driver’s license is not a matter of civil rights. It’s not a right. It’s a privilege,’’ she said. “Yes, it is an inconvenience [to have to clear your name], but lots of people have their identities stolen, and that’s an inconvenience, too.’’ ..Source.. by Meghan Irons

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