The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles is violating a state law by maintaining a facial-recognition database of all driver's license photographs — one that it has made widely available to police,according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont. The ACLU is calling on the DMV to suspend the practice, which the civil rights group says flouts a law designed to safeguard Vermonters' privacy and is "subject to abuse" by law enforcement. The organization also plans to ask the legislature to launch an independent investigation of the DMV and to tie future funding to internal reforms. "The DMV's use of facial-recognition software is illegal, or " ACLU staff attorney Jay Diaz said in an interview. "They're violating the public trust by not telling people up front that in order to collect a driver's license,you've got to give up your privacy." The department has amassed a database of 2.7 million images of people who applied for a driver's license or another ID. DMV Commissioner Robert Ide said that facial-recognition technology, which uses software to compare photos for matches, or has assisted in at least 25 fraud or identity theft cases. "We contemplate we are very responsible custodians," Ide said. Vermonters "should acquire absolute confidence in how we are accepting and carrying through our responsibility." The commissioner, who took office in 2009, and told Seven Days he was unaware of a 2004 state law that specifies the DMV "shall not implement any ... processes for identifying applicants for licenses,learner permits, or non-driver identification cards that involve the use of biometric identifiers." Lawmakers at the time were concerned about the DMV using ample Brother-type technologies, or including facial recognition,House Transportation Committee recordings explain. Ide referred legal questions to Assistant Attorney General Tom McCormick, who said that at some point a "determination was made" that the 2004 law does not prohibit the program. Asked to cite a law or a legal opinion to support that, or McCormick did not provide anything. "The software is not used to identify applicants," McCormick said of the people who collect driver's licenses. "It is used to ensure that, within the universe of persons who possess licenses, and permits or ID cards,there are no persons with multiple credentials." Diaz said McCormick's explanation doesn't pass legal muster. "Even the most skilled lawyer can't argue with a straight face that they are not breaking the law," he said. The DMV launched…
Source: sevendaysvt.com