ACLU sues over surveillance tech

The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday sued the Justice Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI for records detailing their use of facial-recognition software, arguing that the agencies have secretly implemented a nationwide surveillance technology that threatens Americans’ privacy and civil rights.

ACLU attorneys asked a federal court in Massachusetts to order the agencies to release documents about how the government uses and audits the software, how officials have communicated with companies that provide the software, and what internal guidelines and safeguards regulate its use. Representatives at the agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“These technologies have the potential to enable undetectable, persistent, and suspicionless surveillance on an unprecedented scale,” the attorneys wrote. “Such surveillance would permit the government to pervasively track people’s movements and associations in ways that threaten core constitutional values.”

The lawsuit marks a new chapter in growing resistance to the technology, which has quickly become a far-reaching presence in people’s lives with little to no legislative approval or public debate.

Government and law enforcement officials have argued that the software offers a powerful investigative tool that can more quickly pinpoint dangerous suspects. But some lawmakers and privacy advocates argue that the systems erode American protections against government surveillance and unlawful searches by scanning people without their knowledge or consent, and that inaccuracies in the systems could undermine criminal prosecutions, unfairly target people of color and lead to false arrests.