An update on the FBI's Iris Scan Biometric Database

Eye scan data use not new, it’s currently used by the military and private security companies. What is new is the development of a comprehensive database of eye scans by the FBI. The FBI’s iris scan pilot program started in 2013 with over 30,000 arrestee records. The biometric database is at 430,000 and counting.

Existing scans were gathered with info sharing agreements from the US Border Patrol, the Pentagon and local law enforcement in states that have been collecting and storing iris scans, including California, Texas and Missouri.

Iris scans capture a detailed image of the ridges in the colored part of the eye using infrared photography. The iris is as detailed and unique as a fingerprint. Among the reasons for the popularity of iris scans are that they are done quickly and easily, with little or no personal contact.

Research at Carnegie Melon University is developing technology that will be able collect scan data at 40 feet. With the ease of capturing such data, privacy concerns are increasing. One participant in the Carnegie Melon study commented, “I feel negatively about a remote iris scan because I want there to be some kind of interaction between me and this system that’s going to be monitoring me.” *

People want to know and approve that their data is being collected. So far, there has been no public debate or oversight. The bureau is in the process of creating a “privacy impact assessment” report in response to the growing scope of the program, saying currently that the program is bound by “internal information security standards.” **



**The FBI has collected 430,000 iris scans in a so-called 'pilot program'

By Colin Lecher and Russell Brandom for The Verge, July 12, 2016 08:00 am



*The FBI has spent years quietly building a huge trove of eyeball data

By Rafi Schwartz, for Fusion, 7/13/16