Given the public/private partnerships that make government use of facial recognition possible, consumers remain unaware of which seemingly benign consumer products could land in government hands.
Departmental failures involving state agencies undermine the public’s trust in government, which is a necessary ingredient to the healthy functioning of a free society.
The erosion of individual privacy rights within federal law enforcement agencies directly correlates with the rise of unchecked agency power, particularly in the realm of national security agencies such as the CIA and, post-9/11, the National Security Agency.
The general constitutional issue under review is this: does allowing police to force a criminal defendant to provide the passcode for a cell phone violate the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination?