Your Face in the Database

by Catherine Forsythe

If you drive, your face is in the database. The motor vehicle databases have been coveted by advertisers and would pay for access to that information pool. The data may be given away to law enforcement agencies to track down fugitives:

“… the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver’s license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes.

The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for more criminals and possibly to expand the effort nationwide. But privacy advocates worry that the method allows authorities to track people who have done nothing wrong.”

link: Driver’s licenses scanned in search for fugitives

While there is almost universal agreement about catching criminals, the use of the motor vehicle databases does raise some questions. Does the motorist lose control of that private information for the privilege of driving? With many state governments experiencing financial difficulties, is monetizing these data a legitimate source of public income?

A motorist’s picture and private information such as date of birth may no longer be data that the local government holds. Now these data can be part of international databases and move further and further from the control of local officials.