The Georgia DMV is using your pictures for this.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Going to the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles and getting your picture taken is expected, but the agency is also keeping that photo in a facial recognition system.

According to the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS), it does so to help law enforcement in cases of specific violent crimes. However, some state lawmakers were unsettled after an Atlanta News First investigation uncovered the process.

State Reps. Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs) and Brian Prince (D-Augusta) weren’t aware of the process. Both lawmakers sit on the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation committee which, according to its mission statement, works on issues involving new and emerging technologies and their implications for Georgia’s economy.

“It’s something we need to look into and it’s something we need to take very seriously,” Thomas said, adding some protections are needed.

“We as a government [have] to do a better job or [have] to do a good job making sure citizens know,” Prince said.

When submitting an ID application to the DDS, the use of the tech is not explicitly disclosed to the applicant, except for the general “acknowledgement” section the applicant is required to check off:

“Under penalty of law, I swear or affirm that I am a resident of the State of Georgia, and the information provided on this form is true and correct … I grant permission to the Department of Driver Services to information furnished to the Department through the release of any and all applicant information to third parties which shall include, but not be limited to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or other public or private entities …”

Since 2008, the DDS has awarded contracts to private facial recognition companies, according to documents obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates.

“You don’t know when they’re using the data, how they’re using the data, or in what form are they using this data,” said Ramnath Chellappa, an associate dean at Emory University who studies artificial intelligence and its impact on privacy, and who raises concerns about the unintended consequences.

For example, on Oct. 7, 2015, Marquis Stephens, 41, was shot and killed during a “botched” armed robbery attempt in southwest Atlanta.

At the time, police did not have a suspect’s name, but a witness provided an Instagram photo of a possible suspect. Atlanta police detectives sent the image to the DDS, which ran a facial recognition search, using the state database of driver’s license photos. Case files show 25 photos delivered back as possible matches.

Among the returned photos, Kevin Reeves would later be one of two men convicted in Stephens’ murder.

However, images were released of more than a dozen other men who had nothing to do with the crime, and police were able to use any those images to potentially build a suspect lineup.

False Recognition: An Atlanta News First special investigation

Kay Levine, a former prosecutor who is now an Emory Law School professor, said many Georgia residents have likely been in photo lineups based on this process.

“If anybody thinks the only people concerned about privacy are those people who have criminal behavior to hide, who have heroin in the trunk of their car, or machine guns in their garage, they are mistaken,” Levine said.

Beyond privacy, Levine argues the process could pose a court challenge.

Under Georgia’s Election Integrity Act of 2021, IDs are now required to cast a ballot. When a resident has no other form of ID, they can get a free voter ID card from the DDS.

But that same voter ID image could also be subjected to a facial recognition system.

“This could possibly be a new frontier for people who want to assert an impact on their ability to vote,” Levine said.

This is uncharted territory for lawmakers who want state legislation, instead of waiting on federal guidance. “The state has a role in it, especially if you’re funding those agencies,” Prince said.

“Anything less than absolute maximum transparency would be unwise by us policy makers,” Thomas said.

Applicants for voting can their voter ID card from other agencies such as county registrar offices.

DDS officials declined interview requests, but a statement from the agency cited state law authorizing it to to provide information to law enforcement. The statement said the agency only assists on active cases involving murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, sexual battery, and voluntary manslaughter.

The agency has a special investigative unit of 11 certified officers.

“A strong working relationship between motor vehicle agencies and law enforcement is essential to public safety, homeland security, and identity protection,” DDS said. “Sharing of FR data plays an important role in meeting local, state, and federal public safety goals. It provides an opportunity for sharing resources and data to enable motor vehicle agencies to enhance the DL enrollment process and serves as one of many tools, and not the only investigative resource, used by law enforcement when investigating criminal cases.”

State motor vehicle departments across the nation could be using facial recognition technology similarly.

The American Association of Motor Vehicle s is recommending national best practices for the use of facial recognition technology among state motor vehicle departments.

Despite the Georgia DDS using the technology, the agency has no official policy on record.

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