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Caught in a Dragnet (Driver Sues DMV For Revoking License Due To Faulty Face Recognition Software)
Boston Globe ^ | July 17, 2011 | Meghan E Irons

Posted on 07/18/2011 1:25:41 PM PDT by lbryce

John H. Gass hadn’t had a traffic ticket in years, so the Natick resident was surprised this spring when he received a letter from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informing him to cease driving because his license had been revoked.

“I was shocked,’’ Gass said in a recent interview. “As far as I was concerned, I had done nothing wrong.’’

After frantic calls and a hearing with Registry officials, Gass learned the problem: An antiterrorism computerized facial recognition system that scans a database of millions of state driver’s license images had picked his as a possible fraud.

It turned out Gass was flagged because he looks like another driver, not because his image was being used to create a fake identity. His driving privileges were returned but, he alleges in a lawsuit, only after 10 days of bureaucratic wrangling to prove he is who he says he is.

And apparently, he has company. Last year, the facial recognition system picked out more than 1,000 cases that resulted in State Police investigations, officials say. And some of those people are guilty of nothing more than looking like someone else. Not all go through the long process that Gass says he endured, but each must visit the Registry with proof of their identity.

“We send out 1,500 suspension letters every day,’’ said Registrar Rachel Kaprielian, who says the system has been a powerful weapon to fight identity fraud since it was installed in 2006 but that it is not without problems. “There are mistakes that can be made.’’

Neither the Registry nor State Police keep tabs on the number of people wrongly tagged by the system. But Gass estimates in his lawsuit that hundreds might have received revocation notices in error since the system was installed.

(Excerpt) Read more at articles.boston.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dmv; driverslicense; facialrecognition; software
This is one-and-the-same antiterrorism computerized facial recognition system used by the TSA for years until re-branding them as DMV software to keep the news of faulty airport security technology quiet.
1 posted on 07/18/2011 1:25:49 PM PDT by lbryce
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To: lbryce

g’luck with that, homeboy.


2 posted on 07/18/2011 1:27:34 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand ("America will cease to be great when America ceases to be good." -- Welcome to deToqueville.)
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To: lbryce

Why don’t they just ask the crooked DPS workers who sell falsified driver’s licenses to people just which ones are fake?


3 posted on 07/18/2011 1:31:36 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (The liberal press applauded when the NY Times hacked Newt Gingrich's phone calls.)
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To: lbryce

There is a lesson to be learned here: ALWAYS wear your Groucho Marx nose/moustache/glasses when driving in Massachusetts...


4 posted on 07/18/2011 1:31:36 PM PDT by WayneS (Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. -- James Madison)
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To: lbryce
Kaprielian said the Registry gives drivers enough time to respond to the suspension letters and that it is the individual’s “burden’’ to clear up any confusion. She added that protecting the public far outweighs any inconvenience Gass or anyone else might experience.

“A driver’s license is not a matter of civil rights. It’s not a right. It’s a privilege,’’ she said. “Yes, it is an inconvenience [to have to clear your name], but lots of people have their identities stolen, and that’s an inconvenience, too.’’

Guilty until proven innocent, eh?

5 posted on 07/18/2011 1:34:10 PM PDT by Virginia Ridgerunner (Sarah Palin has crossed the Rubicon!)
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To: Virginia Ridgerunner
“A driver’s license is not a matter of civil rights. It’s not a right. It’s a privilege,’’ she said.

With this police state, it's always a "privilege" if it's for citizens, but about "civil rights" for illegal immigrants.

6 posted on 07/18/2011 1:41:19 PM PDT by roadcat
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To: lbryce
"“We send out 1,500 suspension letters every day,’’ said Registrar Rachel Kaprielian, who says the system has been a powerful weapon to fight identity fraud since it was installed in 2006 but that it is not without problems. “There are mistakes that can be made.’’
I have to wonder exactly what the numbers show. How many people involved in identity theft are actually caught using this technology and how much of what he claims is BS.

Bet we never see those numbers released by this police state. We keep having more and more of our liberties abridged in the name of national security and crime prevention, things like the highly invasive body searches and scans, but actual data on how successful they are--how many attempted attacks or crimes--is never released.

Being told over and over again that such and such is necessary for our security without ever being shown proof of its effectiveness is the M.O of the ever encroaching police state.
7 posted on 07/18/2011 1:59:14 PM PDT by Sudetenland (There can be no freedom without God--What man gives, man can take away.)
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To: Virginia Ridgerunner
but lots of people have their identities stolen, and that’s an inconvenience, too.

Yeah, and the people guilty of that go to jail. Do you really want to continue that comparison, Ms. Kaprielian?

8 posted on 07/18/2011 2:08:47 PM PDT by tnlibertarian (Don't mend SS, end it.)
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To: tnlibertarian

>>Yeah, and the people guilty of (identity theft) go to jail.<<

Not always. I’ve long had someone using my SSN to work under and I can’t get anyone to do anything about it because they all say it isn’t a crime against me to steal my identity. So I struck back by finding the bank accounts that were under my name and claiming the funds and closing the accounts. It was the easiest $19,800.00 I ever made and, best of all, according to the law, it’s all mine.


9 posted on 07/18/2011 2:26:32 PM PDT by MeganC (Are you better off than you were four years ago?)
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To: lbryce
"“There are mistakes that can be made.’’ "

Mistakes were made?

So who pays for screwing up?

10 posted on 07/18/2011 2:40:51 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: MeganC

Did you pay taxes on your “ill-gotten” gains?


11 posted on 07/18/2011 2:44:25 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: lbryce

Well, at least Helen Thomas doesn’t have to worry.


12 posted on 07/18/2011 2:44:33 PM PDT by Krankor (I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in.)
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To: WayneS
ALWAYS wear your Groucho Marx nose/moustache/glasses when driving in Massachusetts...

Expect a visit from a SWAT team, however.

13 posted on 07/18/2011 3:06:08 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (Pelosi: Obamacare indulgences for sale.)
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To: Virginia Ridgerunner
I don't understand how these statist bastards can still refer to driving as a “privilege” to be taken away at will.

Since the 1950s, we have become a nation of roads. Without being allowed to use these roads or borrowing someone Else's “privilege”, many things are impossible for a huge percentage of the USA.

It's not like we only use cars for shows and joyrides. In many places, you must drive for employment and even food.

14 posted on 07/18/2011 3:45:00 PM PDT by varyouga
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To: WayneS

I think the lesson here is that if you give the State the power to regulate and license people, you give that power away at great peril.


15 posted on 07/18/2011 4:30:57 PM PDT by DariusBane (People are like sheep and have two speeds: grazing and stampede)
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To: Paladin2

“Did you pay taxes on your “ill-gotten” gains?”

That was the beauty of the thing. The person who was impersonating me did. When tax time came I received ‘my’ W-2 forms and filed and got quite a nice refund from their witholding.

I figured if no one wanted to help me then I’d at least strike back at the criminal by taking what was arguably mine anyway. I’ve since changed my SSN (which was not easy!) and my last name has since changed, as well. Also, I spent $30 and froze my credit reports with all three reporting agencies and that had the nice side effect of ending all of that preapproved credit card junk mail.


16 posted on 07/18/2011 4:59:34 PM PDT by MeganC (Are you better off than you were four years ago?)
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To: lbryce
"It’s not a right. It’s a privilege,"

priv·i·lege (prv-lj, prvlj)
n.
1.
a. A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste. See Synonyms at right.
b. Such an advantage, immunity, or right held as a prerogative of status or rank, and exercised to the exclusion or detriment of others.
2. The principle of granting and maintaining a special right or immunity: a society based on privilege.

17 posted on 07/18/2011 5:06:48 PM PDT by KrisKrinkle (Blessed be those who know the depth and breadth of their ignorance. Cursed be those who don't.)
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To: lbryce

g’luck with that, homeboy.


18 posted on 07/18/2011 5:42:21 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand ("America will cease to be great when America ceases to be good." -- Welcome to deToqueville.)
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To: MeganC

Cool. Sometimes a plan just comes together.


19 posted on 07/18/2011 6:06:51 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: lbryce
Since I was familiar with Southerners uttering "damnyankee" as a single word, it came as no surprise when we heard MA folks doing the same with "damnregistry" -- and we soon learned that it was well deserved...
20 posted on 07/18/2011 7:20:13 PM PDT by TXnMA (There is no Constitutional right to NOT be offended.)
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