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a letter from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informing him to cease driving because his license had been revoked.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.
Don't you just love how the default setting = [REVOKE LICENSE]? Based on nothing more than a computer review, this poor guy had to go through two weeks of hell with a revoked license, dealing with the RMV, etc. all because some computer software screwed up. How much do you want to bet that the company that makes the software has some sort of anti-indemnification deal in place before the system is put in place? Oops, our system f**ked up, too bad so sad.
The lawsuit that Gass has filed has a great idea - have the person whose license is in question have a hearing before revocation. This does two things at the same time - it allows someone wrongly accused of having a fradulent license to come to the hearing with supporting documentation before their license is actually revoked, and it would put into place a framework for adding on punishments for fradulent licenses. If someone with a fake license gets a notice to appear, they can either appear and face the consequences or default and face additional charges - and, note to the Commonwealth, more fines.
Of course, this makes sense, so there's no way it would ever be instituted...
That is all.
Thanks to Antitango and Yankeefried for the links to this story.
9 comments:
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.
Oh Really? So some poor lawabiding citizen gets his license revoked by a computer?
Do you think they are scanning or illegals or fake ID's? When they send out the revoked paperwork will it matter to these people? Of course not.. they will just get a new one. Its the lawful people that are the ones that get caught up in this mess.
Yeah, but the main thing that makes this Big Brother System Unworkable is, that if left as is, Achmed the Dead Terrorist just got informed by the State that his Official Gov't Fake I.D. is no longer valid, so he'll just have to use his back up. If they issue a hearing notice, then Achmed gets Advanced Warning to switch to a Back Up. But neither system keeps Achmed from belonging to his Sleeper Cell in the First Place.
It's kinda like the DEA asking a Suspect when would it be a good day to stop by, and can I bring a few of my SWAT Buddies?
Just hit me: Don't you need some sort of Photo I.D. Special Card in Massachusetts to own and purchase Guns? So if some Political Hack doesn't like how you are Criticizing him/her on your Blog, they can just have one of their I.T cronies use this software (which will probably be applied soon in your Commonwealth's Gun Registry) put a "No Guns Allowed" tag on your data, because you kinda/sorta resemble a maybe Terrorist...
This story really pissed me off yesterday. You can't automatically revoke someones license for a facial recognition match. The probability of a false positive is just too high.
This is an already useless government agency going out of their way to do harm. Hope the guy wins his suit.
I believe that someone in the MA DMV bureaucracy "overlooked" this part of the 5th amendment "nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"
This seems to be a few steps short of due process.
"nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"
Unfortunately things like driver's licenses and gun permits (at least in NY) aren't your property. They belong to the state, and are granted to you only when you jump through all the hoops, including agreeing that you'll obey whatever rules they tell you. Otherwise you get no license, or can have it taken away for any reason they can think of.
That's the worst part about agency law - the agency is judge, jury, and executioner. Their jurisdiction is limited but within that jurisdiction they're pretty much God.
Big Brother is alive and well...
Virginia went from nice color photos to B/W on its DLs a few years back.
"To better integrate with photo ID software" was reason given.
Too much for my buddy. Did the whole Don Corleone thing with gauze in cheeks and some breathing thingies in his nostrils. May explain why I haven't seen him in a while. Don't think I'll try to find him anytime soon.
One small problem with this....
If the License has been faked, then by defintion, it is not in the DMV registry Datbase to begin with.
Is the software attempting to find people who have applied for licenses under different names and addresses? If so, then wouldn' the article have stated that? How do they decide which is the real one and which is the fake?
or are they comparing DMV photos to some other Database??
and if indeed it is an anti terrorism program, I would tink the first response would be to start an investigation ....not send a letter..
Dear Achmed,
Our computer program has targeted you as a potential Terroist so we have revoved your drivers license. Please report to the nearest Police staion and turn yourself in.
Weeks? Try 9 years.
I last lived in Massachusetts in 1999; moving to California the middle of the year. In late 2000 I moved to Ireland.
At some point in 2001, MAssachusetts decided I owed them some fees and taxes, for a car that hadn't been located, or registered in MA for two years.
Six months later they issued a bench warrant, and suspended my drivers license... which I also had not had since 1999 (I had a CA license).
I moved bac to the U.S. Christmas of 2003, and got a drivers license in Arizona. About six months later, Massachusetts sent out a data update to the rest of the country, and Arizona suspended my license, based on Massachusetts say so.
I found out a few months later when I was pulled over for making a right turn at a no turn on red intersection; and was arrested for driving with a suspended license.
This happened every six months or so for the next 7 years.I got a lawyer just to deal with the issue. I sued the state of Massachusetts. I got court orders.
The computer kept sending the same thing year after year...
Finally, in 2010, it stopped. I'm hoping it doesn't start back up again, but Idaho doesn't give a damn about Massachusetts. So long as I live here... good togo.
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