Back in my life as a sighted man...sort of...I did have a learner's
permit and took drivers Ed in high school. But I quickly realized
that I was crazy if I thought I could drive under normal conditions.
So I obtained a Washington State Identification Card. Like the
driver's license, it bore my most unflattering photo. At one time I
did not need to renew it for 7 years. I believe it's fewer years now,
but I just reapply through the mail.
My first wife, Judy, and I were married ten years and never owned a
car. At barely four feet eleven inches, and uncertain regarding her
own driving abilities, we rode with other folks...some of whom should
not have been allowed behind the wheel.
My second wife, Trish, and I stored her brother's car while he and his
wife worked in Alaska. Bill, her brother, said, "Go ahead and drive
it anytime you want." It was a Gremlin, a piece of tinfoil wrapped
around a scooter motor. But one day I said to Trish, "I'll bet I can
teach you to drive." And I did! I don't brag about this, since she
turned into one wild and crazy driver. But we used to laugh about the
thought of a cop pulling us over, and him yelling at her, "you blind,
or something?" And we'd say, "No, but my teacher is." It was illegal
as all Hell, but when Bill reclaimed his car, we bought a Subaru.
Brand new for just over $5,000. That was 1972.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/9/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
One advantage of being blind, you can't drive a car. But if you get a non
driver's license for ID purposes, I guess it's no advantage.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2019 4:17 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] And I Thought 1984 Could Never Happen!
Ah, but I do miss the innocence of my youth. Those were the days when we
thought our biggest fear was contacting a case of the Clap. How little did
we know.
Carl Jarvis
Subject: [EXTERNAL] FBI, ICE Using Facial Recognition To Bulk-Scan DMV
Photos In "Unprecedented Surveillance Infrastructure" | Zero Hedge
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-08/fbi-ice-bulk-scanning-dmv-photos-facial-recognition-unprecedented-surveillance
FBI, ICE Using Facial Recognition To Bulk-Scan DMV Photos In "Unprecedented
Surveillance Infrastructure"
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) along with Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) has been using state driver's license databases to run
photos of millions of Americans through facial-recognition systems without
their knowledge or consent, according to the Washington Post.
inline-images/racial%20rec
block quote
Thousands of facial-recognition requests, internal documents and emails over
the past five years, obtained through public-records requests by Georgetown
Law researchers and provided to The Washington Post, reveal that federal
investigators have turned state departments of motor vehicles databases into
the bedrock of an unprecedented surveillance infrastructure.
Police have long had access to fingerprints, DNA and other “biometric data”
taken from criminal suspects. But the DMV records contain the photos of a
vast majority of a state’s residents, most of whom have never been charged
with a crime. - Washington Post block quote end
Disturbingly, neither Congress nor state legislatures have authorized this
type of system, and none of us agreed to it when we obtained licenses.
"They’ve just given access to that to the FBI," said Rep. Jim Jordan,
ranking GOP member of the House Oversight Committee. "No individual signed
off on that when they renewed their driver’s license, got their driver’s
licenses. They didn’t sign any waiver saying, ‘Oh, it’s okay to turn my
information, my photo, over to the FBI.’ No elected officials voted for that
to happen."
"Law enforcement’s access of state databases," and in particular those of
the DMV, is "often done in the shadows with no consent," added House
Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD).
And as has been reported for some time, law enforcement has been relying on
facial recognition technology as a routine investigative tool for years -
and it's going to get worse.
block quote
Since 2011, the FBI has logged more than 390,000 facial-recognition searches
of federal and local databases, including state DMV databases, the
Government Accountability Office said
last month, and the records show that federal investigators have forged
daily working relationships with DMV officials. In Utah, FBI and ICE agents
logged more than 1,000 facial-recognition searches between 2015 and 2017,
the records show. Names and other details are hidden, though dozens of the
searches are marked as having returned a “possible match.” - Washington Post
block quote end
Also disturbing is the fact that law enforcement often uses facial
recognition to investigate low-level crime, with searches "often executed
with nothing more formal than an email from a federal agent to a local
contact,"
according to the Post.
"It’s really a surveillance-first, ask-permission-later system," says
Project on Government Oversight watchdog lawyer Jake Laperruque.
"People think this
is something coming way off in the future, but these [facial-recognition]
searches are happening very frequently today. The FBI alone does 4,000
searches every month, and a lot of them go through state DMVs."
Targeting illegals with licenses?
The Post also brings up the fact that undocumented residents who obtain
driver's licenses in states which allow this may be subject to immigration
enforcement due to the facial recognition technology.
block quote
Though Utah, Vermont and Washington allow undocumented immigrants to obtain
full driver’s licenses or more-limited permits known as driving privilege
cards, ICE agents have run facial-recognition searches on those DMV
databases.
More than a dozen states, including New York, as well as the District of
Columbia, allow undocumented immigrants to drive legally with full licenses
or driving privilege cards, as long as they submit proof of in-state
residency and pass the states’ driving-proficiency tests.
Lawmakers in Florida, Texas and other states have introduced bills this year
that would extend driving privileges to undocumented immigrants. Some of
those states already allow the FBI to scan driver’s license photos, while
others, such as Florida and New York, are negotiating with the FBI over
access, according to the GAO. - Washington Post block quote end
"The state has told [undocumented immigrants], has encouraged them, to
submit that information. To me, it’s an insane breach of trust to then turn
around and allow ICE access to that," according to Georgetown Law Center on
Privacy and Technology senior associate Clare Garvie, who led the research.
block quote
The FBI’s facial-recognition search has access to local, state and federal
databases containing more than 641 million face photos, a GAO director said
last month. But the agency provides little information about when the
searches are used, who is targeted and how often searches return false
matches. - Washington Post block quote end
When asked about the surveillance, the FBI told the Post to refer to last
month's congressional testimony from Deputy Assistant Director Kimberly Del
Grecco, who said that facial recognition was necessary "to preserve our
nation’s freedoms, ensure our liberties are protected, and preserve our
security."
Racist technology?
Civil rights advocates have decried the use of facial recognition technology
due to the fact that it is far less accurate when trying to identify people
of color. According to the report, "The software’s precision is highly
dependent on a number of factors, including the lighting of a subject’s face
and the quality of the image, and research has shown that the technology
performs less accurately on people with darker skin."
Whatever the objection, we're now at the point where our ability to drive a
car or enjoy the out-of-doors is subject to constant electronic surveillance
of varying accuracy.
