Thailand Law Blog: security

Friday, September 26, 2014

National Security Versus Privacy Rights: FBI Facial Recognition System Fully Operational in U.S.

The FBI's biometric database system is fully operational and will be activated across the United States, according to Activist Post.

The FBI announced the launch of the Next Generation Identification system (NGI) on September 15, 2014. According to Activist Post, the NGI includes advanced finger printing technologies, facial recognition, and iris scans "that are collated into a central database for real-time sharing at all levels of law enforcement and government agencies."

Though the FBI states in its press release that the NGI is an “investigative tool" to help identify criminals via photo matching, Activist Post speculates that there is nothing to stop the FBI from cataloging the entire U.S. population.

Catching criminals often involves crossing national borders, though, and privacy concerns extend beyond the U.S. which has extradition treaties with over 100 nations. The NGI has already been used in at least one international case involving a U.S. fugitive who was hiding out in Nepal, reports Activist Post.

Though NGI is not currently known to be in use in Thailand, Thailand international airports already photograph all persons entering and exiting the Kingdom. Additionally, Thailand law enforcement agencies have had a robust relationship with U.S. law enforcement agencies for decades. Currently, Thailand is home to an FBI-sponsored international law enforcement academy. In the past 30 years under the Thailand-USA Extradition Treaty, 135 fugitives have been extradited from Thailand to the U.S.

These facts illustrate how easily the NGI could be initiated, not only in Thailand, but in other nations around the world.

Read the full FBI biometric database story here.

Drones and Constitutional Rights

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Bradley Manning Verdict: Whistleblowing Law

The Bradley Manning verdict was released last week. Although the sentencing hearing is still continuing, Manning was acquitted of the more serious charge of aiding the enemy, but was convicted of disobeying orders and releasing classified information and the actions of the US Government in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the verdict was announced, the news was also released that Russia were prepared to offer temporary asylum to Edward Snowden, meaning he was now free to leave Moscow airport, where he has been staying the last few weeks. Snowden has been charged with leaking details about US surveillance programs.

Both men insist they released this information not to harm the US government, but because they believed the US public had a right to know. It seems the Espionage Act, originally intended to protect the US from foreign spies, is now being used against so called whistle blowers.

Under Thailand law, whistle blowers should be offered the same protection as with other country's, however Thailand lawyers say they often have concerns that more reports are not made in Thailand because of cultural issues and fears of speaking against someone.

Relevant Video:

Related Articles:

Bradley Manning Trial Judge Raises Burden of Proof
Hong Kong Protests In Support Of Snowden

Flickr photo credit: savebradley