Electronic Frontier Foundation requests facial-recognition records

From Courthouse News Service:  SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a technology watchdog, wants the Justice Department to hand over facial-recognition records before switching on the FBI's "bigger, faster and better" biometrics system.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sued the Department of Justice in a federal FOIA complaint. It claims the FBI has been "dragging its feet" for a year on three FOIA requests.

The EFF says in the complaint that the FBI has given a presentation "which included a graphic image that implied the Bureau wanted to use facial recognition to be able to track people from one political rally to another."

The EFF says it wants to "shine the light" on the FBI's biometrics program – slated for launch in 2014 – and particularly its facial-recognition components.