Technology Emerging as Crime-Solving Tool and Civil Liberties Risk
Facial recognition technology has become a hotly debated issue in and around the Chicagoland, with a recent proposed bill looking to curtail the practice in law enforcement. The proposed bill, the Illinois Biometric Surveillance Act, sponsored by state representative Kelly Cassidy who represents most of Rogers Park and Edgewater, would ban the use of facial recognition and other biometric identifiers by law enforcement statewide, meaning no agency could use the technology or enter into an agreement with a state or federal agency to use it. However, proponents of the technology are quick to point out several high profile cases in which the technology played a key role in bringing charges, such as in the death of Dominique Pollion whose body was discovered on a Blue Line train in January. Investigators in that case used facial recognition which helped to gather leads by feeding high-quality CTA video images into the Illinois Secretary of State’s database of driver’s license photos, allowing detectives to focus on possible matches, investigate, and bring charges against a suspect. Proponents are also quick to point out that potential facial recognition match alone is not enough to file charges, and law enforcement is early in its uses of it as a tool in their arsenal. However, that very expansion of surveillance tools worries opponents of the technology, with some warning that its use can lead to false arrests, particularly if safeguards are not put in place.
Federal Authorities Use of Facial Recognition Apps
Regardless of whether or not the state ban were to go into effect in Illinois, federal authorities have been shown to already use the technology. Last year it was revealed that the Trump administration has secured a $9 million contract with Clearview AI, a company barred from selling data to Illinois state law enforcement agencies, but which has contracts with the FBI, Army, U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Homeland Security, amongst others. ICE has reportedly used the technology to identify victims and perpetrators of child sex crimes, as well as people suspected of assaults against law enforcement officers. Shortly after taking office, the Trump Administration removed a section on DHS’s website detailing the facial recognition policy implemented under former President Biden, worrying some opponents of the technology. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin was pointed in his criticism of the technology, saying he, “[finds] it appalling that the Trump Administration is attempting to silently revoke previous guidance that was put in place to protect our privacy and due process rights. We need answers on how and why the Trump Administration is using surveillance technology, especially as DHS continues to ruthlessly carry out cruel, excessive immigration raids.” Senator Edward Markey echoed this sentiment about the potential dangers of the technology to entrap innocent individuals, warning that “facial recognition technology is often biased and inaccurate, especially when used against communities of color… The use of this technology against protesters and private citizens is not just a threat to privacy, but foments a threat on democracy itself.” Illinois has tried to rein in the technology through privacy law and proposed legislation, such as the one proposed by representative Cassidy, but it would not affect federal agents from being able to deploy the technology across the state. Regardless, expect to see further developments in the law and uses of facial recognition technology by law enforcement and the inevitable legal challenges from attorneys as cases arise.
