The FBI has expanded its biometrics programs with two major developments that will reportedly impact Americans on a day to day level more than any other biometrics initiative the national law enforcement agency has previously implemented, according to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
The first change, which the FBI revealed quietly earlier this year in a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), is the consolidation of civil and criminal fingerprints into a single searchable database. As such, all fingerprints and biographical data sent to the FBI for a background check will now be stored and searched in the same database as those containing fingerprints collected for criminal purposes. Those U.S. citizens who have their fingerprints collected for licensing or for a background check will likely be stored in the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) database, where they will be regularly searched by law enforcement agencies across the country.
The new development will make these fingerprints, and the biographical data included with them, available to any law enforcement agent who wishes to view them. The data will also be searched along with all other fingerprints collected for a criminal purpose, either upon arrest or at time of booking.
The first change, which the FBI revealed quietly earlier this year in a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), is the consolidation of civil and criminal fingerprints into a single searchable database. As such, all fingerprints and biographical data sent to the FBI for a background check will now be stored and searched in the same database as those containing fingerprints collected for criminal purposes. Those U.S. citizens who have their fingerprints collected for licensing or for a background check will likely be stored in the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) database, where they will be regularly searched by law enforcement agencies across the country.
The new development will make these fingerprints, and the biographical data included with them, available to any law enforcement agent who wishes to view them. The data will also be searched along with all other fingerprints collected for a criminal purpose, either upon arrest or at time of booking.
