CBP's Clearview AI Deal: Facial Recognition for Tactical Targeting

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has secured a $225,000 contract with Clearview AI, enabling the use of their face recognition technology for 'tactical targeting' and 'strategic counter-network analysis'. Clearview AI's tool has access to over 60 billion images scraped from the internet, enhancing capabilities for CBP’s intelligence units such as the intelligence division (INTEL) and the National Targeting Center in identifying security threats.

The agreement implies that Clearview's technology will integrate within analysts' daily intelligence tasks. Analysts are expected to handle sensitive personal data, including biometric identifiers like face images, while being bound by nondisclosure agreements. However, the contract does not specify the types of photos that will be uploaded, the potential inclusion of U.S. citizens in searches, or the duration for storing images or search results.

This deal arrives amidst increasing scrutiny over the use of face recognition by federal entities beyond border security, with concerns about its routine use rather than isolated investigations. Notably, Senator Ed Markey has proposed legislation prohibiting ICE and CBP from using facial recognition technology, addressing biometric surveillance's deepening integration without clear limits or transparency.

It’s noted that prior tests by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) highlighted facial recognition systems’ challenges. While effective in controlled environments like 'high-quality visa-like photos', these systems struggle in less controlled settings, showing error rates over 20% with poorer quality images. NIST underscores that these systems, when used investigatively, should provide a ranked list of potential matches for human review, instead of yielding a single confirmed match.