CBP Now Has a Massive Searchable Database for Devices Seized at the Border
The US border agency will be able to sift through data extracted from travelers' laptops and cellphones for up to 75 years.
Every year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seize tens of thousands of cell phones, laptops, and other devices from travelers at or near the country’s borders, often without charging them with a specific crime. Those seizures give the agency access to massive amounts of highly personal information—data that CBP will now upload to a searchable, agency-wide surveillance database and maintain for up to 75 years, according to a privacy assessment recently published by the agency.
CBP has been collecting this kind of data for a long time, but the process has been decentralized, creating a natural limit on who could access the information and how easily they could do it. The new system, developed by PenLink, a Nebraska-based surveillance and analytics company, will change that. It will create “a risk that irrelevant information extracted from devices will now be accessible to a larger number of (US Border Patrol) agents with no nexus to that particular case,” according to CBP’s privacy assessment.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7gjay/cbp-now-has-a-massive-searchable-database-for-devices-seized-at-the-border
#US #CBP #privacy #surveillance
The US border agency will be able to sift through data extracted from travelers' laptops and cellphones for up to 75 years.
Every year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seize tens of thousands of cell phones, laptops, and other devices from travelers at or near the country’s borders, often without charging them with a specific crime. Those seizures give the agency access to massive amounts of highly personal information—data that CBP will now upload to a searchable, agency-wide surveillance database and maintain for up to 75 years, according to a privacy assessment recently published by the agency.
CBP has been collecting this kind of data for a long time, but the process has been decentralized, creating a natural limit on who could access the information and how easily they could do it. The new system, developed by PenLink, a Nebraska-based surveillance and analytics company, will change that. It will create “a risk that irrelevant information extracted from devices will now be accessible to a larger number of (US Border Patrol) agents with no nexus to that particular case,” according to CBP’s privacy assessment.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7gjay/cbp-now-has-a-massive-searchable-database-for-devices-seized-at-the-border
#US #CBP #privacy #surveillance
Vice
CBP Now Has a Massive Searchable Database for Devices Seized at the Border
The US border agency will be able to sift through data extracted from travelers' laptops and cellphones for up to 75 years.
Border Patrol Has Used Facial Recognition to Scan More Than 16 Million Fliers — and Caught Just 7 Imposters
A new report lays out CBP’s shoddy implementation of facial recognition technology
The agency that runs the United States’ airport and border facial recognition program has failed to properly tell the public about how it works, a new report has found. In whole, the report reads like a major red flag: The U.S. government is charging ahead with the adoption of this questionable technology, and it’s not informing the public or keeping proper tabs on accuracy.
By law, the Customs and Border Patrol is supposed to inform the public when facial recognition is being used by putting up clear, legible signs telling people that their faces are being scanned and how they can opt out. The department is also supposed to put accurate, up-to-date information online about its facial recognition, and provide information through its call center.
https://onezero.medium.com/border-patrol-used-facial-recognition-to-scan-more-than-16-million-fliers-and-caught-7-imposters-21332a5c9c40
#US #CBP #face #recognition
A new report lays out CBP’s shoddy implementation of facial recognition technology
The agency that runs the United States’ airport and border facial recognition program has failed to properly tell the public about how it works, a new report has found. In whole, the report reads like a major red flag: The U.S. government is charging ahead with the adoption of this questionable technology, and it’s not informing the public or keeping proper tabs on accuracy.
By law, the Customs and Border Patrol is supposed to inform the public when facial recognition is being used by putting up clear, legible signs telling people that their faces are being scanned and how they can opt out. The department is also supposed to put accurate, up-to-date information online about its facial recognition, and provide information through its call center.
https://onezero.medium.com/border-patrol-used-facial-recognition-to-scan-more-than-16-million-fliers-and-caught-7-imposters-21332a5c9c40
#US #CBP #face #recognition
Medium
Border Patrol Has Used Facial Recognition to Scan More Than 16 Million Fliers — and Caught Just 7 Imposters
A new report lays out CBP’s shoddy implementation of facial recognition technology