Ohio facial recognition database can be accessed by 30,000 police officers, others without any oversight

By Madison Ruppert

Editor of End the Lie

(Image credit: threephin/Flickr)

Some 30,000 police officers and court employees in Ohio can access driver’s license images in the state’s facial recognition database with no oversight or audits, according to a report.

While this is the nation’s most permissive system, the fact is that facial recognition systems are used nationwide with similarly lax legal standards, as I reported in June. Similar databases are on the rise thanks to the FBI’s distribution of facial recognition software and their $ 1 billion facial recognition system.

An investigation by the Cincinnati Enquirer/Gannett Ohio found that the system was implemented without first reviewing security protocols or telling the public about it.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office launched the facial recognition system in June, according to the Enquirer. The technology was in use in over half of the states at the time, according to DeWine.

Such technology is not only used in law enforcement contexts. Indeed, increasingly powerful facial recognition systems are being rolled out on platforms ranging from mannequins to drones to border crossings to city-wide systems around the globe.

However, the Enquirer reports that some states have the use of these systems on a tight leash.

In Kentucky, only 34 people can run a facial recognition search, according to the Enquirer. Of those, three are in the license bureau and 31 are in the state police department.

Ohio’s level of access is “unmatched anywhere else in the country,” according to the Enquirer. As part of their investigation, they contacted officials in every other state and the District of Columbia to obtain details about their facial recognition systems.

In addition to Ohio, 37 states along with the District of Columbia have launched facial recognition systems that are capable of matching a driver’s license picture with another photograph.

In most states, the system was launched by the driver’s license bureau in an attempt to prevent duplicate identification cards and fraud. Ohio’s system, on the other hand, was launched by the attorney general.

On the other hand, 12 states do not use facial recognition software at all. Another 12 states use facial recognition software but reportedly do not allow law enforcement agencies to access the technology.

Since Ohio launched the system, it has been quite popular. Officers have performed at least 2,600 searches on the new database since June 2.

The precise nature of these searches is not clear, though the system can be used to match driver’s license images and police mug shots with any image, even one captured by a surveillance camera.

The database does not just include photos. The investigation found that any of the 30,000 people with access to the database could also acquire information as personal as home addresses and Social Security numbers.

DeWine said that he is satisfied with the system’s “adequate” safeguards. He said that the threat of prosecution and other safeguards help prevent misuse of the system.

However, we know that government employees aren’t always the most scrupulous when it comes to use of their systems.

After all, NSA employees used the agency’s massive international surveillance network to spy on their lovers and former spouses.

Furthermore, a recent Enquirer report revealed, “The lead attorney for Ohio’s law enforcement database resigned in 2009 after misusing the system but was not charged with a crime.”

“Without stronger restrictions and security measures, how many cases of abuse are slipping by in offices across the state?” the Enquirer asked.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio clearly does not agree with DeWine’s claims about adequate safeguards.

In an August 26 press release, the ACLU of Ohio called on DeWine to “pull the plug” on the program.

“Without specific limits on what government can do with this technology, its use will inevitably and eventually spread to Ohioans who are not criminal suspects,” said ACLU of Ohio Associate Director Gary Daniels. “This is not speculation. It is a foregone conclusion when government thinks of law enforcement first and its citizens’ right to privacy last.”

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Ohio facial recognition database can be accessed by 30,000 police officers, others without any oversight

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Wall Street Shaped Bill Easing Oversight, and Kept Contributions Coming

Banking industry lobbyists helped members of the House Financial Services Committee craft a bill loosening regulators’ oversight of various types of trading, with lobbyists from Citibank playing a large role in the process, according to a report in today’s New York Times. Seventy-one of the 80 lines in a bill recently approved by the panel were written with the assistance of lobbyists for major banks, said the report, which is based on emails reviewed by the paper’s reporters; two paragraphs were copied from the lobbyists nearly word-for-word.

According to Center for Responsive Politics data, in the first quarter of 2013, members of that committee received more than $ 1.3 million in donations to their campaigns and leadership PACs from the securities and investment industry and commercial banks.

The donations came from PACs representing the financial firms, individuals they employ and lobbyists who represent the firms. By far the largest source of cash from the two industries was the Investment Company Institute, a trade association representing Wall Street firms. The ICI gave at least $ 129,000 to members of the House Financial Services Committee. Other trade groups representing banks and investment firms, including the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America, were also major contributors. 

Among individual corporations, UBS was the top donor to the committee’s members, contributing $ 88,000 so far this year.

The banking and securities and investment industries together contributed about the same amount overall to members of the committee in the first quarter of 2011 as in the first three months of 2013 — roughly $ 1.3 million. But the commercial banking industry — including Citigroup — gave substantially more this time around, while the securities industry gave less.

Banking industry companies increased their contributions in 2013 to $ 640,286, from $ 497,169 in early 2011. Citigroup, in particular, jumped from $ 19,500 in donations to committee members to $ 39,500. UBS went from $ 64,250 to $ 88,000. Wells Fargo also opened its checkbook a little wider this year, giving $ 80,000, compared with $ 31,250 in 2011.

The ABA gave $ 90,750 in the first quarter of 2013, up from $ 58,650 in the comparable period in 2011.

Although the New York Times article cites a growing friendliness between the banking industry and congressional Democrats, the money going to the members of the committee this year overwhelmingly tilted towards Republicans. Seventy percent of the $ 1.3 million went to GOP lawmakers. Republicans control the House, and thus the committee, and it is not unusual to see the majority party pick up more cash from donors, regardless of the topic or committee.

The top recipient of cash from the two industries so far this year is Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the chairman of the committee, who has picked up $ 140,400. The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who has criticized the legislation in question, received only $ 6,000.

The bill, the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act (H.R. 992), was sponsored by committee member Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), who has received $ 50,100 from commercial banks and the securities and investment industry, the majority of which came from individuals rather than PACs. One of his co-sponsors, who defended the legislation to the Times, is Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) who took in a similar amount from the two industries — about $ 47,700.

According to FEC records, Citigroup’s PAC gave Hultgren’s campaign committee $ 2,000. And it gave Himes’ campaign $ 1,000 and his leadership PAC, Jobs and Innovation Matter PAC (JIM PAC) another $ 2,500. The donations to Hultgren, JIM PAC and a $ 5,000 donation to Hensarling’s leadership PAC were all made on March 26.

The panel passed the bill this month despite objections from the Treasury Department. It awaits action in the full House.

Images: Stock market board via BigStockPhoto.com

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Wall Street Shaped Bill Easing Oversight, and Kept Contributions Coming