The 2020 Foilies Awards: Recognizing the year’s worst in government transparency

By Electronic Frontier Foundation

Jul 8, 2020 at 1:00 am

Image: The 2020 Foilies Awards: Recognizing the year’s worst in government transparency

Caitlyn Crites

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The About Face on Face Recognition Award

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

How hard is it to unmask records on face recognition? The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) discovered the many faces of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when it filed a request for information on the agency's acquisition and use of face recognition technology.

ICE initially said it had only three redacted records — while failing to search one of its largest directorates, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). After POGO successfully appealed, ICE responded that a query of ERO had been conducted and was being reviewed. Two months later, ICE said the request had been closed. After POGO reached out to the agency, ICE then contradicted itself, stating that the appeal was assigned and ERO would be queried. A follow-up request seeking updated information was met with silence. Accordingly, POGO has decided to face off with ICE in a different venue — the courtroom — after filing a lawsuit for the records.