GAO reports shortcomings in federal law enforcement on privacy and civil liberties

Published: Friday, September 15, 2023 - 4:54pm
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The Government Accountability Office has for three weeks in a row published reports about shortcomings by federal law enforcement on privacy and civil liberties.

The departments of Homeland Security and Justice replied that they agree with all recommendations for improvement.

The reports are by Congress’s own watchdog.

The first says a Homeland Security intelligence office that shares sensitive data with police and others has not done audits to make sure employees accessing the info have permission.

The second report says a number of federal law enforcement agencies use facial recognition technology, but don’t have a correlating policy to protect civil rights and liberties.

And the last report says Homeland Security needs to do much more to protect the privacy of those whose info eventually goes into a delayed-and-over-budget system expected to store biometrics for hundreds of millions of people.

Law Enforcement