The Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the US Immigration and Customs Control, illegally obtained access to the personal information of ordinary Americans. About this with reference to the study of Georgetown University, the newspaper The Washington Post reported. According to the publication, the agencies used the database of the Department of vehicles for "unprecedented observation."
“Law enforcement access to state databases,” in particular, database of motor transport departments, “is often granted without publicity and without the consent of citizens,” said Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Supervisory Committee.
It is noted that these databases contain photographs of US residents, the vast majority of whom have never been accused of committing crimes. At the same time, neither the Congress nor the state legislatures allowed the special services and immigration agencies to use such information. The publication notes that citizens who received a driver's license, did not give consent to the use of their personal data.
“None of the people, obtaining or renewing a driver's license, signed any consent for his data and photo to be easily transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And none of the elected officials for this did not vote, ”- quotes the publication of Congressman Jim Jordan, the senior Republican in the supervisory committee of the House of Representatives.
American human rights defenders, in turn, claim that the imperfection of the facial recognition system creates an increased risk that an identification error will occur and the wrong person will be arrested. It also clarifies that the operation of the software depends on a number of factors, in particular, the coverage of the subject's face. In addition, according to experts, the technology fails to identify individuals with dark skin.
“In reality, this is a“ follow-up-permission-later ”system,” said Jake Laperruk, senior legal counsel for the Project on Government Supervision. “This is thought of as something from a distant future, but such a search (with face recognition. - RT ) is very often carried out today.” One FBI conducts four thousand such searches each month, often through state departments. ”
- Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the House of Representatives Elijah Cummings
- AFP
- © CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
The materials, including thousands of e-mails and official documents of federal agencies, as well as the states of Utah, Vermont and Washington, show how easy it is for a federal investigator to use the database of a separate state's motor transport department, WP journalists say. In some cases, the search for photographs of drivers was carried out on the basis of a federal request or a court order, but often everything was limited to an e-mail to a department employee with the photo of the suspect attached. After that, the employee conducted a search on the basis of a driver's license and provided information about "possible matches".
"Exploit Democracy"
Such actions of law enforcement officers are a direct violation of US law and the rights of ordinary citizens, according to the director of the US Foundation for United States Studies Roosevelt at MSU Yuri Rogulev.
“This case is yet another confirmation of the fact that in the USA they are unhindered watching their citizens, and this cannot be justified. While without a court decision and compelling reasons, it is forbidden in the US to monitor and collect data on law-abiding citizens, ”the expert explained.
However, special services, according to Roguljov, quite often bypass this prohibition.
“They either agree with the court, which, without looking, gives permission to carry out such operations, or do not request this document at all. Not to mention the fact that the technical means used by the American agencies of this kind make it possible to carry out surveillance unnoticed by all. It is not difficult for them to enter any system, ”the analyst emphasized.
Rogulyov also noted that the special services of the United States received enhanced capabilities in connection with the adoption of the “Patriot Act” after September 11, 2011.
“Then measures were taken to coordinate the activities of these departments, creating their single center. In addition, access to electronic data, including citizen correspondence and telephone calls, was expanded, ”stated Rogulev.
- September 11 terrorist attack in New York
- AFP
- © SPENCER PLATT / Getty Images North America
According to him, the tragedy lies in the fact that now the US intelligence services can always find a reason to "invade the privacy" of an ordinary American. A similar point of view is shared by the corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergei Sudakov.
“After the adoption of the“ Patriotic Act ”and its partial abolition, 90% of Americans stopped believing in democracy, because there is no opportunity in the country to preserve their personal data and the right to freedom of speech,” the expert noted.
According to Sudakov, the principles of a meta-authoritarian regime operate in the United States, when certain values are declared, but in reality we are talking about completely different rules.
“Americans don't get the portion of stability they could get. Washington is trying to exploit democracy and not talk about the prevailing atmosphere of distrust and lack of privacy in the country, which should be the norm in a democratic society, ”said the analyst.
Now Washington is directly interfering in the private life of the population, Sudakov believes - ordinary citizens “become transparent” for special services, which are trying to control all spheres of their lives.
“Regardless of whether the person has a driver's license or is registered in the library, he already falls under the scope. Data of foreign citizens is immediately entered as suspicious. This is illegal, but everyone is silent about it, ”said the expert.
As noted by Sudakov, Washington operates under the motto “the end justifies the means,” where “shadowing is one of the tools.”
Watchful eye
In the US, this is not the first case when law enforcement officers are accused of spying on ordinary citizens, experts add.
Analysts are reminiscent of the loud scandal in the United States around Edward Snowden, an American technical specialist and special agent, a former employee of the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States.
Recall that in early June 2013, Snowden handed the NSA secret information to the Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers, which concerned the total surveillance of US intelligence services not only by Americans, but also by citizens of other states.
According to the Pentagon, Snowden's disposal was 1.7 million secret files, most of which affect "the vital operations of the American army, navy, marines and air force."
Two weeks later, Snowden was charged in absentia with espionage and kidnapping of state property. He was put on the international wanted list by the US authorities. Snowden fled from the United States to Russia, where he received a residence permit.
- Former CIA and US National Security Agency Edward Snowden
- Reuters
- © Rafael Marchante
According to Yuri Rogulev, the goals of the FBI and the immigration services are far from being always described as good.
“They are not supported by the whole society. Not to mention the fact that the security services often pursue private interests, ”explained the analyst.
According to Rogulyov, the problem lies in the fact that in the United States is extremely difficult the process of legal proceedings on cases of special agents violating the law.
“If before such employees could be summoned to court and prove their guilt, now it becomes almost impossible,” the expert stated.
Fee for "freedom"
According to analysts, Washington is guided by double standards: on the one hand, it pursues ordinary citizens for publicizing materials about spy scandals, corruption in the highest echelons of power and war crimes of the USA, and on the other hand, in fact spies for ordinary Americans.
In early June, the US Department of Justice sent an official request for extradition to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to London. Thanks to his activities in the media around the world, about 100,000 secret documents were sent about the course of the war in Afghanistan, as well as tens of thousands of testimonies about the war in Iraq. Some documents concern the execution of civilians.
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
- AFP
- © Daniel Leal-Olivas
Earlier, on April 11, Assange was detained at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, currently under arrest. Washington first accused the journalist of conspiring to commit computer hacking. However, a month ago, the American side brought 17 new charges against Assange - now he faces up to 175 years in prison.
According to Sergei Sudakov, with respect to the activities of special services, Washington follows the principle of presumption of innocence of the security forces.
“If you are a person who went against the system, you are a spy, and the state is an institution that is allowed much more. Today there is not a single person in the United States who could challenge the system without consequences, ”explains the expert.
According to Sudakov, the United States systematically conducts "explanatory work" with the population through intimidation and blackmail.
“When someone in the USA tries to raise a protest wave in connection with the illegal actions of the special services, people in black cars immediately approach him, who lucidly explain that they should not do this,” the analyst said.
However, some ordinary citizens believe that such a system guarantees them security, Sudakov noted.
“Americans will react to the fact that in their country they abuse their personal data using only grunting, because they believe that this system protects them. 90% of the US population condescendingly refers to this, while 10% of Americans are ready to protest, ”said Sudakov.
However, in order for mass protests to occur, you need someone who would pay for it with their freedom, the expert believes.
“On the eve of the US presidential elections, none of the American governors will allow such events to take place, since destabilization against the background of the election process is unprofitable for them,” Sudakov concluded.