Wednesday, July 13, 2011

“Minority Report” Come True: Facial Recognition in the Hands of Cops

 

fFacial recognition technology, a staple of high-tech action adventure films, is making its mainstream debut – in reality.

Dozens of law enforcement groups in several states plan to outfit police with hand-held devices that officers can use to scan irises or take photos of a person’s face, the WSJ reports. The gadget, which attaches to iPhones, then runs the information through a criminal database to find potential matches.

The technology – made by BI2 Technologies of Plymouth, Mass. – raises privacy concerns over whether use of the device would require a search warrant, according to the Journal.

Although courts have not ruled on the issue, individuals – including police officers – can legally take photos of people in public spaces. Even so, Orin Kerr of the George Washington University Law School told the Journal that face- and iris-recognition technology is still “a gray area of the law.”

BI2 says it plans to produce about 1,000 devices for distribution to about 40 law enforcement agencies. Each gadget costs $3,000.

“Minority Report” Come True: Facial Recognition in the Hands of Cops
Patrick G. Lee
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:45:53 GMT

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