Ready, fire, aim: Ohio officials implement statewide face recognition program without a whiff of public debate
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 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 because, he told the newspaper, 26 other states already do the same thing. That’s probably news to people in those 26 states, although there has been some national reporting on the issue.
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