Congress Members Demand Answers From, Investigation Of Federal Facial Rec Tech Users

The ACLU's test of Amazon's facial recognition software went off without a hitch. On default settings, the software declared 28 Congressional members to be criminals after being "matched" with publicly-available mugshots. This number seemed suspiciously low to cynics critical of all things government. The number was also alarmingly high, as in an incredible amount of false positives for such a small data set (members of the House and Senate).

Amazon argued the test run by the ACLU using the company's "Rekognition" software was unfair because it used the default settings -- 80% "confidence." The ACLU argued the test was fair because it used the default settings -- 80% confidence. Amazon noted it recommended law enforcement bump that up to 95% before performing searches but nothing in the software prompts users to select a higher setting for more accurate results.

This upset members of Congress who weren't used to be called criminals" at least not by a piece of software. More disturbing than the false positives was the software's tendency to falsely match African-American Congressional reps to criminal mugshots, suggesting the act of governing while black might be a criminal activity.

Congressional members sent a letter to Amazon the same day the ACLU released its report, demanding answers from the company for this abysmal performance. Ron Wyden has already stepped up to demand answers from the other beneficiaries of this tech: federal law enforcement agencies. His letter [PDF] reads like an expansive FOIA request, only one less likely to be arrive with redactions and/or demands the scope of the request be narrowed.

Wyden is asking lots of questions that need answers. Law enforcement has rushed to embrace this technology even as multiple pilot programs have generated thousands of bogus matches while returning a very small number of legitimate hits. Wyden wants to know what fed agencies are using the software, what they're using it for, and what they hope to achieve by using it. He also wants to know who's supplying the software, what policies are governing its use, and where it's being deployed. Perhaps most importantly, Wyden asks if agencies using facial recognition tech are performing regular audits to quantify the software's accuracy.

That isn't the only facial recognition letter-writing Wyden has signed his name to. The Hill reports Congressional reps have also sent one to the Government Accountability Office, asking it to open an investigation into facial recognition software use by federal agencies.

"Given the recent advances in commercial facial recognition technology - and its expanded use by state, local, and federal law enforcement, particularly the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement - we ask that you investigate and evaluate the facial recognition industry and its government use," the lawmakers wrote.

The letter, signed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Sens. Ron Wyden, Cory Booker, Christopher Coons (D-Del.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), asks the GAO to examine "whether commercial entities selling facial recognition adequately audit use of their technology to ensure that use is not unlawful, inconsistent with terms of service, or otherwise raise privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties concerns."

The public has a right to know what public surveillance methods are being deployed against it and how accurate or useful these tools are in achieving agencies' stated goals. Privacy expectations all but vanish when the public goes out in public, but that doesn't mean their daily movements can automatically be considered grist for a government surveillance mill. Whatever privacy implications there are likely have not been addressed pre-deployment if recent surveillance tech history is any indication. Before the government wholeheartedly embraces tech with unproven track results, federal agencies need to spend some quality time with the people they serve and their overseers that act as a proxy for direct supervision.