ACLU Balks at Secret Service's Facial Recognition Testing

The Secret Service is testing a facial recognition program near the White House, the ACLU revealed Tuesday.

In a Nov. 26 document outlining the program — posted by The Hill — the Department of Homeland Security said the facial recognition software will only be used to identify volunteer Secret Service members in public spaces — and suggested people who do not want to be on camera "may choose to avoid the area."

The images from the facial recognition software will be used to match with "people of interest," which at this point is volunteers in the program, according to DHS.

Existing White House security cameras are being used for the program, and recorded images will be limited to the White House security system and deleted at the end of the program in August 2019, according to officials.

But in its blog, the ACLU warned the program is "yet another step toward the normalization of facial recognition as a blanket security measure."

"Congress should demand answers about this new program and the government's other uses of face recognition," the ACLU's senior policy analyst Jay Stanley wrote. "And it should intercede to stop the use of this technology unless it can be deployed without compromising fundamental liberties."

• Facial Recognition Screening Starting at US-Mexico Border
• Amazon Pitches Facial Recognition to Monitor Immigrants