Washington, D.C. - Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Jennifer Lynch will testify this week at a Senate hearing on facial recognition technology and the privacy and civil liberties risks associated with rapidly growing biometric databases. The hearing is set for Wednesday, July 18, at 2:30 p.m.

Facial recognition technology is becoming increasingly sensitive and sophisticated, creating new ways for government and private entities to identify and track people throughout the United States. Meanwhile, databases used by law enforcement, social networking sites, and other entities both public and private are growing larger every day. In her testimony Wednesday, Lynch will discuss how the increasing use of facial recognition technology presents unique risks to Americans' privacy and civil liberties, and what we can do to protect rights and freedoms going forward.

Other witnesses at Wednesday's hearing include Maneesha Mithal, Associate Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection; Jerome M. Pender, Deputy Assistant Director of the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Rob Sherman, Facebook's Manager of Privacy and Public Policy. The hearing is part of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, chaired by Senator Al Franken.

WHO:

Jennifer Lynch

Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation

WHAT:

“What Facial Recognition Technology Means for Privacy and Civil Liberties”

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law

WHEN:

2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 18

WHERE:

Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226

Washington, DC 20002

For more on the hearing:

http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=daba530c0e84f5186d785e4894e78220