This summer, former National Security Agency (N.S.A.) contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations that the American government is intercepting and collecting correspondence and phone records, reviving a national debate over security and privacy.
The debate has also surfaced on the state level, as local law enforcement agencies have started to implement facial recognition technology that could transform police departments across the country.
This week, Chrissie Thompson, state capital reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer, revealed that Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation has used facial recognition technology to match drivers license photos and surveillance footage for months–without telling the public. The program launched June 6 of this year, and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine learned of it two weeks later.
DeWine discussed the Enquirer’s investigation on Monday, telling reporters, “Frankly, we never thought–I never thought–that there would be a big concern about it, simply because over half the states do it. It’s a natural extension of what law enforcement has done in the past.”
Ohio is just one of 26 states that have implemented facial recognition technology. Reporter Chrissie Thompson discusses her investigation, and Attorney General DeWine defends the law enforcement’s use of this technology.Â