Several reports now indicate that ATF has access to and utilizes facial recognition technology (FRT) to identify gun owners. In fact, two Government Accountability Office reports confirm that ATF does have access to various facial recognition systems including Clearview AI, Vigilant Solutions, and other systems owned by other federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial law enforcement agencies.[1] GAO described the Clearview AI database as:
“[A] web-based facial recognition service using 30+ billion facial images sourced from publicly-available websites, including news media, mugshot, and social media websites, among others.”[2]
A 2021 GAO report found that ATF did not have sufficient accountability mechanisms “to track what non-federal systems with facial recognition technology are used by employees.”[3] According to testimony given to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, ATF “initially used these services without requiring their staff to take training on topics such as how the technology works, what photos are appropriate to use, and how to interpret the results.”[4]
GAO scolded federal agencies, stating that they “must consider the potential impact of its use on civil rights and civil liberties[, b]ecause the potential for error and the potential to misidentify someone could lead to the arrest and prosecution of an innocent person.”[5] GAO was also concerned that government use of FRT can have “a chilling effect on an individual’s exercise of their First Amendment rights.”[6] Similarly, ATF’s use of Facial Recognition Technology could have a chilling effect on the People’s exercise of their Second Amendment rights. Ultimately, GAO recommended that:
“The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should, after implementing a mechanism to track non-federal systems, assess the risks of using such systems, including privacy and accuracy-related risks.”
According to GAO, ATF is reported to have conducted at least 549 facial recognition searches on gun owners between October 2019 and March 2022.[7] GAO indicates “as of April 2023, ATF… reported that they had halted their use of such services.”[8] However, the most recent reports suggest otherwise. Senator Ron Johnson discovered that:
“[P]hotos… were sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) for facial recognition… The ATF was apparently requesting the photos… for facial recognition purposes. It is unclear… why ATF would be the agency responsible for conducting facial recognition”[9]
Indeed, it is unclear why ATF, the agency tasked with enforcing federal alcohol, tobacco, and firearms laws, should have access to a facial recognition system in the first place.
New Jersey Police Used Clearview AI to Identify Gun Owners
In New Jersey (a state with a firearm purchaser database, handgun registration, and universal registration checks) the government utilized Clearview AI to identify whether suspects owned guns. In an interview, Attorney General Grewal said that “the Clearview app was used to get the name of the individual… We wanted to find out: does this person have firearms?”[10] Ultimately, the Attorney General ordered all New Jersey police to cease using the software for arrests and prosecutions because it was racist and inaccurate.[11]
ATF Could Use Facial Recognition Software in Conjunction with National Gun Registry
In recent years, ATF has admitted to Congress that it possesses nearly one billion gun and gun owner records. A 2022 report by Gun Owners of America details that this registry is both digital and searchable.[12] By ATF’s own admission this registry is “not searchable by name” because “ATF is the only agency that pays Adobe” to disable search functionality of ATF’s PDF gun registry. However, ATF could simply re-enable the functionality to search its digital registry by name.
Indeed, Senate appropriators are already advocating for “Law Enforcement Advanced Analytics” funding “to implement software using advanced analytics to correlate open source, commercial, and native agency data.” Apparently, ATF is “increasingly rely[ing] on the analysis of huge volumes of information, including open-source information” in the course of its enforcement of gun control on the American people.[13]
It seems as if ATF is preparing to use Clearview AI in conjunction with its illegal gun registry to identify gun owners and what firearms they own—just like the New Jersey police have already done.
[1] U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2021). Facial Recognition Technology: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Better Assess Privacy and Other Risks (Report No. GAO-21-518) [PDF file]. https://www.gao.gov/assets/D21518.pdf , 11.
[2] U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2023). Facial Recognition Services: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Take Actions to Implement Training, and Policies for Civil Liberties (Report No. GAO-23-105607) [PDF file]. https://www.gao.gov/assets/830/828859.pdf , 11.
NOTE: Clearview AI’s website now presently advertises over 50 billion facial images.
[3] U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2021). Facial Recognition Technology: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Better Assess Privacy and Other Risks (Report No. GAO-21-518) [PDF file]. https://www.gao.gov/assets/D21518.pdf , 26.
[4] USCCR. (2024, March 8). Civil Rights Implications of the Federal Use of Facial Recognition Technology [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVs8MGHgQSw&t=1973s , 32:53.
[5] USCCR. (2024, March 8). Civil Rights Implications of the Federal Use of Facial Recognition Technology [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVs8MGHgQSw&t=1973s , 30:19.
[6] USCCR. (2024, March 8). Civil Rights Implications of the Federal Use of Facial Recognition Technology [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVs8MGHgQSw&t=1973s , 30:46.
[7] U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2023). Facial Recognition Services: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Take Actions to Implement Training, and Policies for Civil Liberties (Report No. GAO-23-105607) [PDF file]. https://www.gao.gov/assets/830/828859.pdf , 16.
[8] U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2023). Facial Recognition Services: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Take Actions to Implement Training, and Policies for Civil Liberties (Report No. GAO-23-105607) [PDF file]. https://www.gao.gov/assets/830/828859.pdf , 17.
[9] Senator Ron Johnson. (2024, July 21). Sen. Johnson Releases Preliminary Findings on Review of July 13, 2024 Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump [Press release]. https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/2024/7/sen-johnson-releases-preliminary-findings-on-review-of-july-13-2024-assassination-attempt-on-former-president-trump , 3-4.
[10] CNN Business. (2020, February 10). Is this facial recognition app going too far? We tested it [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGJNXG2vmZw&t=113s , 1:53.
[11] Difilippo, D. (2022, February 25). A.G. Mulls Statewide Policy on Facial Recognition Technology. New Jersey Monitor. https://newjerseymonitor.com/2022/02/25/a-g-mulls-statewide-policy-on-facial-recognition-technology/
[12] Johnston. ATF’s Illegal Gun Owner Registry. 2022.
[13] S. Rept. 118-198 to accompany S. 4795.
