The state of New York has asked surveillance companies to install a system using facial recognition technology to scan and identify people who drive in and out of New York City.

A memo, obtained by Vocativ, calls for private companies to submit plans for the installation of these cameras.

The plan is a part of Governor Cuomo's major infrastructure package, introduced in October, which also included plans to renovate airports and improve public transportation in New York.

The state of New York has asked surveillance companies to install a system using facial recognition technology to scan and identify people who drive in and out of New York City (stock image of the Holland Tunnel, one of those most used to get in and out of the city from New Jersey)

The small detail about camera installation to 'test emerging facial recognition software and equipment' went unnoticed by many New Yorkers.

A memo from the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Bridges and Tunnels division, obtained by Vocativ, shows that the MTA put out a call to a group of private vendors of surveillance equipment.

The system would scan drivers as they came into the city through bridges and tunnels at high speeds, and would also capture and pair those faces to their license plates.

A memo from the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Bridges and Tunnels division, obtained by Vocativ, shows that the MTA put out a call to a group of private vendors of surveillance equipment

Clair Garvie, an associate at Georgetown University's Center for Privacy and Technology told Vocativ: 'The biggest risk that comes with a system like this is the ability to track people, by location, by their face. So what needs to be put in place is a prohibition on the use of those cameras and the technology as a location tracking tool.'

All seven of the MTA's bridges and both tunnels were named in the Governor's proposal.

New York City won't be the first city with a facial recognition system. Moscow is currently home to the most prominent system, which attempts to pair hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras with advanced facial recognition software. The technology allows the Russian government to find people that are caught on camera by using a FaceFind program to find their social media accounts, according to Vocativ.

The system that the MTA has called for is likely still years away.

The plan is a part of Governor Cuomo's major infrastructure package, introduced in October, which also included plans to renovate airports and improve public transportation in New York

However, facial recognition is already widely used by law enforcement in the United States.

Researchers at Georgetown University published an investigation last year that shows that in at least 26 states, just having a state-issued driver's license or photo ID allows police to remotely search for and identify an individual's face from photos taken with surveillance cameras, or even posted to social media.

This can be done without a warrant or court supervision, reported Vocativ.

Additionally, sixteen states make their residents' ID photos available to the FBI, who have a facial recognition database with more than 411million photos of faces.

All seven of the MTA's bridges and both tunnels were named in the Governor's proposal

Unlike other methods of biometric identification, such as fingerprinting or DNA registries, the majority of faces belong to innocent individuals instead of criminal suspects.

These programs were imposed under the Bush administration after 9/11, and expanded under the Obama administration, allowing President Trump to inherit the most powerful surveillance machine ever built.

Additionally, Trump's transition team includes many people with a financial interest in making pervasive face recognition a reality, according to Vocativ.

Sixteen states make their residents' ID photos available to the FBI, who have a facial recognition database with more than 411million photos of faces

For example, Michael Dougherty is serving on the committee of Homeland Security/ His most recent professional role was as the CEO of the Security Identity & Biometrict Association. The association is a lobbyist group representing the companies that develop face recognition technologies.

Another member of the President's team is John Sanders, who used to be TSA's Chief Technology Officer, and now is on the board of Evolv - a company that uses face recognition to provide threat 'detection and prevention'.

For those individual already weary of trusting the Trump administration, these conflicts of interest present a large concern regarding the right to privacy.