Case Study: Next Generation Identification Database

• Lockheed Martin, IBM, Accenture are among those private contractors that are helping develop and implement NGI. What privacy concerns does their involvement in the project raise?

The main concern in this case is the compliance with ethical standards. I mean private imagery data of around 52 million people is at stake. According to the case study, only 46 million are criminal images. When companies like IBM. Accenture and Lockheed Martin have access to this data, there has to be strict measures taken so that the data is secured and not misused anywhere else.

• Some privacy advocates fear that the system will lead to the identification of “false positives” – implicating innocent civilians in criminal or terrorist activities. What steps could the FBI take to reduce the likelihood of mistaking individuals’ identity?

In my opinion this question is mostly related to the use of advanced technological tools. FBI should keep track of the error rate and specify the conditions where errors are made. Research should be carried out to find the actual reasons of the errors which could be within the software or hardware or during the data collection. In advance versions of the technology used for identification, these errors should be corrected.