The Biden administration's new facial recognition app for asylum seekers sets off alarm bells

Migrant caravan
Migrant caravan
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

The Biden administration recently rolled out a new app that uses facial recognition and geolocation technology to gather and store data about asylum seekers before they even enter the U.S., the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. While the Department of Homeland Security claims that the app will help alleviate some of the immense pressure at the border since the agency can't "process all individuals at once," critics have pointed out that it's alarming that the government is acquiring and saving the faceprints of "vulnerable migrants who have little choice but to consent" to using the app, as the Times writes.

"It may not seem like a big deal to match a preexisting photograph to someone standing in front of you," Sophia Cope, a senior attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, explained. "But ultimately, the government is building a system of pervasive surveillance, and that creates a society that looks very different from a free republic."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.