Secret Service will test facial recognition around the White House

Like it or not, facial recognition is creeping into more public spaces. The US Secret Service has quietly started testing the technology in and around the White House grounds, including nearby parks and streets, to see if it can "biometrically confirm" the identities of volunteer Secret Service employees. The pilot program will only retain images if there's a match and won't share information with other agencies, but the ultimate goal is to spot known "subjects of interest" (read: potential threats) before there's a run-in with law enforcement. The test runs until August 30th, after which point the Secret Service will delete any facial data it collected during the period unless there's an "open law enforcement matter." Not surprisingly, the ACLU has expressed many concerns about the pilot.