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Consumer data must be protected

Government agencies have taken intrusiveness to new heights and privacy to a new low by using databases to conduct facial recognition searches without the knowledge, much less consent, of individuals, Congress or state legislatures.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have conducted hundreds of thousands of searches using data generated by states for drivers’ licenses and other state business.

The FBI alone has conducted 390,000 searches since 2011, of databases containing information on citizens who never have been charged with a crime and against whom the agency has no probable cause for suspicion of wrongdoing.

“They’ve just given access to that to the FBI,” said Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. “No individual signed off on that when they renewed their driver’s license, got their driver’s licenses. They didn’t sign any waiver saying, ‘Oh, it’s OK to turn my information, my photo, over to the FBI.’ No elected officials voted for that to happen.”

“Law enforcement’s access of state databases is often done in the shadows with no consent,” added Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the committee chairman.

Congress should ensure that the agencies end the practice of lifting the information of innocent Americans without their consent, regardless of whether it’s through a database.

The Citizens Voice

wwwcitizensvoice.com

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