This is half a decade old news, but I only found this out myself after it accidentally came up in conversation at the DMV. The worker would not have informed me if it hadn’t come into conversation. Every DMV photo in the United States is being used for AI facial recognition, and nobody has talked about it for years. This is especially concerning given that citizens are recently being required to update their ID to a “Real ID,” which means more people than ever before are giving away the rights to their own face.

The biggest problem with privacy issues is that people talk about it for a while, but more often than not nothing ever happens to fix the problem, it simply gets forgotten. For example, in the next few years Copilot will simply become a part of people’s lives, and people will slowly stop talking about the privacy implications. What can we even do to fight the privacy practices of giants?

84 points

9/11 enabled so much of this to be fast-tracked. Thanks, Patriot Act.

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7 points

Have you read Means of Control (Byron Tau)? He tracks the evolution of all of this and how we got to where we are today. Yes, 9/11 fast-tracked it but there’s so much more to it. Highly recommended.

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4 points

Thanks for the rec, I have not read it. It sounds like something I would enjoy, so I’ll check it out!

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40 points

nobody has talked about it for years

March 2024: https://www.9news.com/article/news/investigations/police-use-colorado-dmv-facial-recognition-program/73-0c2d862c-a33c-4598-bc0a-e0d1a8ee287f

There are rumblings here in CO about curtailing law enforcement’s use of this database. I personally would like to have subpoena protection of the database, so at least it has to go before a judge before the cops just rifle through everyone’s pictures.

This is especially concerning given that citizens are recently being required to update their ID to a “Real ID,” which means more people than ever before are giving away the rights to their own face.

lol, no. Real ID is just a set of requirements the federal govt. has implemented to make sure state IDs are held to the same standard as passports re: data integrity and information presented. That’s all. Not mark of the beast, not something nefarious to track you more than your old state-issued DL did in the past. As far as “recently”? Nope, states have had 20 years.

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3 points
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1 point
1 point
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31 points
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15 points

Donate to eff, aclu, and other privacy organizations.

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-4 points
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8 points

It’s better than not doing anything.

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1 point

They’re literally lobbiests and have a track record of forcing the government to make great changes for the people

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3 points

Or you’re willing to immolate a billionaire or a politician, as long as it’s a sincerely held religious belief.

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3 points
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4 points
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Abso-fucking-lutely. I mean, no, not me personally.

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2 points

How about a guillotine? Those don’t seem to require a religious belief, only a modicum of trust in the well-studied force of gravity.

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1 point

Vote pirate party

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1 point
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-2 points

I don’t think Billionaires even get an exception. It actually might be worse for them in some ways.

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11 points
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6 points

What? They can just buy a private island

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3 points

Or lobby so their private planes are untrackable.

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17 points

I kind of mentally prepared for it when I got my ID. Not only that but they also fingerprint your right thumb.

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15 points

Just renewed my ID on Friday and I went for the Real ID. No fingerprinting. So it must differ by state.

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5 points

Interesting. I’m in California

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11 points

This is especially concerning given that citizens […]

Not everyone with a US driver’s license is a US citizen.

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1 point

Correct, however this issue primary affects US citizens, given that driver’s licenses aren’t the only ID the DMV takes pictures for (e.g. the aforementioned Real ID)

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9 points

Non-citizens also use driver’s licenses and state IDs with Real ID. It’s standard regardless of citizenship.

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Privacy

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