As face recognition technology evolves at a dizzying speed, new uses and terminologies seem to develop daily. On this page, we attempt to define and disambiguate some of the most commonly used terms. For more information on government use of… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Biometrics’
EFF and Allies Urge Council of Europe to Add Strong Human Rights Safeguards Before Final Adoption of Flawed Cross Border Surveillance Treaty
EFF, European Digital Rights (EDRi), the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), and other civil society organizations have worked closely on recommendations to strengthen human rights protections in a flawed international cross border police surveillance treaty drafted… Read More ›
Clearview’s Face Surveillance Still Has No First Amendment Defense
Clearview AI extracts faceprints from billions of people, without their consent, and uses these faceprints to help police identify suspects. This does grave harm to privacy, free speech, information security, and racial justice. It also violates the Illinois Biometric Information… Read More ›
Victory! Biden Administration Rescinds Dangerous DHS Proposed Rule to Expand Biometrics Collection
Marking a big win for the privacy and civil liberties of immigrant communities, the Biden Administration recently rescinded a Trump-era proposed rule that would have massively expanded the collection of biometrics from people applying for an immigration benefit. Introduced in… Read More ›
A Year of Action in Support of the Black-Led Movement Against Police Violence and Racism
“Black lives matter on the streets. Black lives matter on the internet.” A year ago, EFF’s Executive Director, Cindy Cohn, shared these words in EFF’s statement about the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Cindy spoke for all… Read More ›
Maryland and Montana Pass the Nation’s First Laws Restricting Law Enforcement Access to Genetic Genealogy Databases
Last week, Maryland and Montana passed laws requiring judicial authorization to search consumer DNA databases in criminal investigations. These are welcome and important restrictions on forensic genetic genealogy searching (FGGS)—a law enforcement technique that has become increasingly common and impacts… Read More ›
EFF Challenges Surreptitious Collection of DNA at Iowa Supreme Court
Last week, EFF, along with the ACLU and the ACLU of Iowa, filed an amicus brief in the Iowa Supreme Court challenging the surreptitious collection of DNA without a warrant. We argued this practice violates the Fourth Amendment and Article I,… Read More ›
Oakland’s Progressive Fight to Protect Residents from Government Surveillance
The City of Oakland, California, has once again raised the bar on community control of police surveillance. Last week, Oakland’s City Council voted unanimously to strengthen the city’s already groundbreaking Surveillance and Community Safety Ordinance. The latest amendment, which immediately… Read More ›
Why EFF Doesn’t Support Bans On Private Use of Face Recognition
Government and private use of face recognition technology each present a wealth of concerns. Privacy, safety, and amplification of carceral bias are just some of the reasons why we must ban government use. But what about private use? It also can… Read More ›
ExamSoft Flags One-Third of California Bar Exam Test Takers for Cheating
One of EFF’s chief concerns about exam proctoring software—in addition to the fact that it subjects students to excessive surveillance—is the risk that it will incorrectly flag students for cheating, called “false positives.” This can be due either to the… Read More ›