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Law enforcement officials on Tuesday urged state lawmakers to remain even-handed as they begin developing new regulations for facial recognition technology.
The draft legislation still under construction by the committee would restrict state government agencies' use of the software, but does allow law enforcement to use the facial recognition technology while investigating a "serious crime." Such crimes included in the draft bill range from assault with a weapon to deliberate homicide.
While cyber-security experts warned a breach of Montanans' biometric data could put someone at a lifelong vulnerability for fraud, law enforcement associations and officials said future use of facial recognition technology could make the difference in serious crimes.
"The Department of Justice recognizes the inherent conflict presented while attempting to balance the constitutional rights of privacy enjoyed by all Montanans with the wise and prudent use of technology to detect and apprehend perpetrators of crime as a means of protecting both victims and the public," Deputy Attorney General David Ortley said during the Economic Affairs Interim Committee meeting Tuesday.
And as lawmakers look to tighten state governments' use of the software, Tuesday's meeting shed light on how the state is already putting facial recognition technology to work.
Officials from Department of Labor and Industry, Department of Corrections and Department of Justice on Tuesday responded to a questionnaire inquiring into the extent of their use of facial recognition technology, and what a more restrictive regulatory environment might mean for their operations.
Law enforcement associations also contributed to the panel discussion on Tuesday. While city police officials and county sheriffs said facial recognition technology is not currently being used by local law enforcement in Montana, they were virtually unanimous in their plea to lawmakers to not "handcuff" the police's ability to investigate serious crimes while balancing Montana's right to privacy.
Andy Hanks, the state's chief information security officer, meanwhile put the committee on notice of the potential hazards of falling short on securing biometric data.
"I do want to make it clear that biometric data, including facial recognition data, is our citizens most sensitive information that the state can hold," Hanks said. "Our biometric data is the one thing about us that we cannot change. So if our biometric data is ever stolen, we may spend the rest of our lives fighting identity theft, including financial tax and medical fraud. So it's very important that we apply stringent mandatory minimum controls to protect this data whenever we use it."
Both the labor and corrections department use third-party vendors for their facial recognition software. The state labor department uses ID.me to confirm peoples' identification when they collect unemployment benefits. The Department of Corrections uses Compliance Monitoring Systems devices to test people on probation and parole for alcohol and drugs; to ensure the person submitting the sample is the same person under DOC supervision, the device takes a picture of the person and submits it to the department.
Both agencies noted the vendor, not the state, stores the biometric data.
The Department of Justice uses facial recognition software for both the Motor Vehicle Department and Montana Analysis and Technical Information Center, also known as MATIC.
The MVD uses what's called "one-to-one" matching, which means the software checks a single photo against another single photo for a match. MATIC, meanwhile, uses one-to-one matching and widespread searches across databases. Ortley told the committee on Tuesday MATIC has only used facial recognition software 14 times since 2015.
The draft legislation would also set a retention limit on biometric data for three years, or when "the initial purpose for collecting or obtaining such data has been satisfied," whichever happens first.
A representative with Compliance Monitoring Systems on Tuesday said he was unaware of how long the monitoring device's manufacturer keeps the biometric data, but assured the committee he would return with the information. Another representative from the state labor department said ID.me deletes a user's biometric data in 18 months.
Anne Dormady, crime information bureau chief at the justice department, said MATIC staff does not have direct access to the facial recognition technology but passes their requests on to a law enforcement agency that does use the software; the Montana justice department, therefore, does not store biometric data, she said.
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Capitol bureau reporter Seaborn Larson covers justice-related areas of state government and organizations that wield power.
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