US government plans to expand use of 'controversial' facial recognition technology, report shows

US federal agencies are planning to expand use of facial recognition systems, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) despite continuous backlash over the technology's application for more than a year. The report, published Tuesday, assessed the use of facial recognition systems by federal agencies, and how they plan to expand the use of the technology in the future. Eighteen of the 24 surveyed agencies, including the US Departments of Justice, Defense, Education, Housing and Urban Development, reported using facial recognition technology (FRT) for one or more purposes, the GAO report said. The survey also found that 10 of the agencies plan to broaden their use of the technology by 2023, with two of them investing in its research and development. While most of the facial recognition systems used by the federal agencies are government owned, the report says six such systems come from commercial vendors like Clearview AI, and Acuant FaceID.