EPIC, Coalition Call on ICE To End Its Use of Facial Recognition in the Field

In a letter directed to the Chief Privacy Officer for DHS, an EPIC-lead coalition argued that ICE’s use of facial recognition in the field through the Mobile Fortify App is reckless and should cease immediately. According to reporting by 404media, ICE is currently using the Mobile Fortify app in the field to identify anyone they happen to encounter and want to identify. A Privacy Threshold Analysis for Mobile Fortify indicates that ICE does not allow people to opt-out and will collect and retain data for 15 years from anyone they use the Mobile Fortify app on, including U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents. Reporting also indicate that ICE can use the face verification result as a definitive determination of a person’s immigration status even in the face of contrary evidence. The Mobile Fortify app, according to media reports, can connect ICE field agents to troves of data through a “Super Query” once an individual is identified. The coalition argued that “ICE’s current use of facial recognition technology in the field is dangerous, ripe for abuse, and undermines privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights.” EPIC previously sued ICE to obtain documents related to ICE’s use of Clearview and other facial recognition services.