S.T.O.P. Condemns ICE Real-Time Facial Recognition App

S.T.O.P. condemns ICE’s use of a new real-time facial and fingerprint recognition app that identifies people by pointing a smartphone camera at them

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns ICE Real-Time Facial Recognition App (New York, NY 6/26/2025) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemns ICE’s use of the Mobile Fortify App, a new contactless, real-time facial and fingerprint recognition app that identifies people by pointing a smartphone camera at their face or fingers. Reporting from 404 Media shared that the system is typically used at the border, but ICE is increasingly using it within the U.S. to identify people in the field to support Trump’s mass deportation efforts. SEE: 404 Media - ICE Is Using a New Facial Recognition App to Identify People, Leaked Emails Show https://www.404media.co/ice-is-using-a-new-facial-recognition-app-to-identify-people-leaked-emails-show/ “ICE is trying to turn people’s faces into QR codes,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Communications Director Will Owen. “This is a dystopian attack on immigrant communities that will tear families apart through the click of a camera lens. It will also lead to countless mismatches, since real-time facial recognition is especially error-prone.” Last month, the civil rights group condemned, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s plan to build a real-time facial recognition tool photographing every passenger vehicle entering the U.S SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns CBP Facial Recognition Plan For Cars at Border https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2025/5/7/stop-condemns-cbp-facial-recognition-plan-for-cars-at-border?rq=CBP%20facial%20recognition WIRED - US Border Agents Are Asking for Help Taking Photos of Everyone Entering the Country by Car https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-photo-everyone-in-vehicle-us-border/ The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   -- END -- Copyright © 2025 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.