Feds accessed Ohio driver's license photos for facial recognition

SANDUSKY — A recent report about federal law enforcement agencies using driver's license photos in facial-recognition searches are likely to face Constitutional challenges, a civil rights attorney said.The FBI and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have accessed and scanned millions of Americans' driver's license photos without their knowledge or consent, and with no approval by Congress or state legislators, according to the Washington Post.That happened in Ohio three years ago.In 2016, then-Attorney General Mike DeWine let the FBI access millions of Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) license photos taken in 2011, a Columbus Dispatch article states.The Washington Post quoted U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana — ranking Republican in the House Oversight Committee — as being "incensed" during a hearing into the technology in June."They've just given access to that to the FBI. No individual signed off on that when they renewed their driver's license, got their driver's licenses," Jordan said. "They didn't sign any waiver saying, 'Oh, it's okay to turn my information, my photo, over to the FBI.' No elected officials voted for that to happen."But Ohio has since discontinued its involvement in sending license photos to the FBI for their facial-recognition program, citing costs and logistics issues, the Dispatch reported.Legal issuesJared Klebanow, a Cleveland attorney who's worked on cases involving Constitutional issues, said federal agencies' use of driver's license photos are likely to be challenged in court."The back and forth is going to be: When someone goes to get their picture taken, are they giving permission to the BMV to give their information to other agencies?" Klebanow said.While the BMV has stopped feeding license photos to federal authorities, the FBI has accessed an Ohio facial recognition database — run through the AG's state law enforcement network, the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG) — three times in 2019, according to a report from Cleveland.com.Klebanow said that particularly with ICE and immigration issues, giving federal agencies access to a license photo could bring up questions of potential Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment violations.He stressed Ohio's legislature needs to formally address the situation."Now that we know this is happening, the state legislature can pass legislation that permits it, or they can say, 'hold on a second,'" Klebanow said. "Whether or not you're for it or against it, I think the legislation is going to have to step in on it Until they do that, the state is certainly going to argue the attorney general has authority to pass that onto other agencies."Local law enforcementState law enforcement agencies already frequently use Ohioans' BMV photos during the course of their day-to-day operations, Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said.For example, Sigsworth said if a motorist stopped by police does not have a driver's license, an officer or deputy can call up BMV photos in their cruiser-mounted computers to verify that the driver is who they say they are."Those photos are routinely used by us and other local law enforcement for identification purposes," he said.Sigsworth said his agency has never used the facial-recognition software through OHLEG."In local law enforcement circles, it's not something that's talked about," he said.Reach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterA sample Ohio driver's license. Ohio gave the FBI access to its driver's license database in 2016 to run through facial-recognition software, according to the Columbus Dispatch.