The searchable state database assembled of more than 120 million people, used to prevent driver's-license fraud, is allegedly used by authorities to identify criminal suspects.
Law enforcement has reportedly used images of people who have never been arrested in "digital lineups." The open access has caused a backlash, and many are debating the use of the photo databases.
According to the Washington Post, critics believe authorities are developing what is believed to be a national identification system.
"Where is government going to go with that years from now?" said Louisiana state Rep. Brett Geymann, a conservative Republican who has fought the creation of such systems there. "Here your driver's license essentially becomes a national ID card."
Facial-recognition technology is part of a new generation of increasingly used "biometrics tools." According to The Post, the technology is not as reliable as fingerprints, but can help "determine identity through individual variations in irises, skin textures, vein patterns, palm prints and a person's gait while walking."
Facial-recognition systems can be used without people knowing that their faces have been captured.
"Today's driver's-license databases, which also include millions of images of people who get non-driver ID cards to open bank accounts or board airplanes, typically were made available for police searches with little public notice," The Post reported.
The recent news stems off of the Supreme Court ruling this month in favor of DNA collection during arrests.
According to reports, allowing officials to create their own policies about taking DNA samples has increased the collections of samples without warrants. Some DNA samples are allegedly kept even if the suspect is cleared.
"We have been warning law enforcement that when public attention began to focus on these rogue, unregulated databases, people would be disturbed," Barry Scheck, a co-director of the Innocence Project, which seeks to exonerate wrongfully convicted prisoners, told the New York Times. "Law enforcement has just gone ahead and started collecting DNA samples from suspects in an unregulated fashion."
