Joan Cros/Corbis via Getty Images
Ten federal agencies plan on expanding the use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) by 2023, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Tuesday.
Why it matters: How to use these technologies ethically and how to regulate related products will become major questions as more government agencies begin using them.
Driving the news: The ten agencies cited in the GAO report are the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Interior, Justice, State, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
- Many federal agencies want to use this technology for solving crimes, which could be a violation of privacy, per the Washington Post.
- In a June GAO report, the report described how the U.S. Postal Inspection Service would use Clearview AI to solve mail-related crimes.
The big picture: Many tech companies are stalling law enforcement's adoption of this technology.
- In June 2020, Amazon stopped the sale of FRT to the police for one year, citing a lack of federal regulation over these products. The ban was extended indefinitely in May 2021.