Thousands of newly obtained documents show that Clearview AI’s founders always intended to target immigrants and the political left. Now their digital dragnet is in the hands of the Trump administration.

  • treadful@lemmy.zip
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    4 hours ago

    In general, the federal government is hungry for facial recognition. The Department of Homeland Security is experimenting with using facial biometrics to monitor migrant children “down to the infant” and algorithmically predict how they will age so they can be identified if they cross the border years later.

    Seems a bit unnecessary.

  • GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml
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    9 hours ago

    I really began to understand MLK Jr’s line “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” in the past few years. For every injustice allowed (in fact, oftentimes rooted for) we are saying that it will actually be OK to do that elsewhere. Eventually the justification will be OK.

    In the USA we said surveillance was OK. Just use it to profile “terrorists” in the so-called war on terror. Use it to profile everyone who appears at the border. Use it to profile every Palestinian in Gaza. Use it to only profile gang members and “criminals.” Use it to clandestinely surveil every phone call. Finally, stop pretending: use it to surveil everybody.

    How many databases is my face in just because I flew back home from out of the country a few months ago?

    • Petter1@lemm.ee
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      9 hours ago

      This way one should not have voted for a convicted felony…

      It just gives the signal that laws are only for non-white and non-male people and that white men can do whatever they want.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      8 hours ago

      Exactly, the ends does not justify the means. Don’t give the government power, because it will seek to expand that power, which will eventually directly impact you. When considering any new power, consider how it could be used against you at some point in the future, and really think deeply about whether you want that.

  • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Under the Biden administration, ICE records show the agency deployed Clearview widely, even as officials there charged with monitoring the technology were in the dark about how it was being used and by whom.

    This is the direct path from neoliberalism/conservatism to fascism that some of us have been warning about for decades.

    Sure, the D’s are better than the lowest bar known to man — mentally ill fascists and con artists — but fascism may have never succeeded without their own corruption, authoritarianism, and fealty to the plutocracy. They’ve spent decades building the most pervasive surveillance apparatus in history, collecting data from most computers on the planet, about most of the human population, and are doing nothing as the keys to the kingdom are handed to the Nazis.

    • WanderingThoughts@europe.pub
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      10 hours ago

      From a European perspective, USA only had a right and far right party. Anything on the left side was killed long time ago.

      • Broadfern@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        McCarthyism, Southern Strategy, three letter agencies spending decades actively targeting/murdering activists; yeah it’s been rough.

    • GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml
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      9 hours ago

      This is the direct path from neoliberalism/conservatism to fascism that some of us have been warning about for decades.

      Simply put, choosing the “lesser of two evils” over decades means you’re sliding towards evil, regardless.

      • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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        8 hours ago

        Right. You can’t pick the lesser evil in the election today, then go do nothing, and expect good outcomes.

        Harm reduction has a place but it’s not the whole solution

        • GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml
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          8 hours ago

          Sadly, for many, participation ends at the ballot box. I’m sorry to say that I was that way before, too.

    • thanks AV@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      Its super fucked because they’re even using it as a way to point out the real world difference it makes by saying that the Biden admin at least had oversight and inspectors general to prosecute misconduct but OOPS now they’re all fired and nobody is going to stop it. Now the surveillance state is completely unmoored.

      How could this happen?? I thought this wasn’t the character of American democracy? I thought people were good and honest and followed the rules, so this must just be a misunderstanding?? Surely theres no way an entire administration comprised exclusively of foreign agents and bad actors would be able to abuse those systems because there were never any real rules just a general respect for the country and it’s people?? We wouldn’t blindly rely on the good faith of our representatives to maintain our constitution almost exclusively, RIGHT??

  • hansolo@lemm.ee
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    13 hours ago

    I posted about this exact thing over and over late last year. Always to tepid response from all but a few others that understand that in the US, privacy is a relic of the old world.

    Glad at least Mother Jones got the memo.

  • Ulrich@feddit.org
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    8 hours ago

    There’s nothing you can tell me about surveillance tech that would “shock” me at this point.

  • Maeve@midwest.social
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    12 hours ago

    By the end of Trump’s first presidential term, Clearview had secured funding from right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, one of Elon Musk’s earliest business partners, and signed up hundreds of law enforcement clients around the country. The company doled out free trials to hook users, urging cops to “run wild” with searches. They did. Many departments then bought licenses to access Clearview’s faceprint database.

    The loud are the distraction.

  • peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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    9 hours ago

    Hmmm.

    Facial recognition technology is known to be unreliable, and incorrectly match faces. But that’s only a problem if it can detect a face. So your medical facemask is a problem.

    But the real problem is the eyes and nose. Ears are easy enough to cover.

    New style of sunglasses. Ear to ear 3.5" reflective darkened UV protection polycarbonate. That’s a big ass chunk of face it can’t detect anymore.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      8 hours ago

      Many facial recognition engines still track eyes using IR illumination. In fact, it’s more effective, generally speaking, than a mask that covers the bottom half of your face.

      Protect your eyes and you’ll stop most of the automated tracking… for now. It’ll paint a giant target on your back since most work by reflecting IR, so you’ll light up like a Christmas tree, but at least they probably won’t be able to automatically match you to a face in their database.

      • peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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        8 hours ago

        That’s part of the reason. But it now gives me more ideas. Way more.

        Jam the IR. IR emitters can be pretty damn easy to hide. Have them embedded in badges for people. Have IR reflecting signs. Flood the protest with IR so even people unaware of it are protected.

        • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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          8 hours ago

          Yeah, that would be pretty cool. I’ve seen protest shirts for visible light cameras with things that look like license plates and whatnot, and I’d totally be down for a peaceful protest to mess w/ IR illumination as well.

          If you want the glasses, check out reflectacles. They reflect IR, which makes you unidentifiable to many camera systems. I have no association w/ the company, just think it’s a cool idea.

  • thanks AV@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Wow, this was the centerpiece of all my studies on the alt right over the last decade and I never even knew. Mother Jones; never change.

  • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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    8 hours ago

    shocking

    What is it actually fair and restrained or something? That’s about the only thing that would actually be shocking at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they were actually electrocuting people.