https://www.havasunews.com/opinion/our-view-facial-recognition-for-license-photos-ok-but-oversight/article_bfd1fd4c-a6c9-11e9-a437-ab729e08ad2c.html

The news that the federal government is using facial recognition software to scan driver licenses in other states shouldn’t surprise anyone. If the technology exists, it’s probably safe to assume the federal government will find a way to make use of it. In this case, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents are said to be “mining” millions of license photos from three states for possible matches. Arizona says it’s not participating – at least, not on a wholesale basis.

But here’s the thing – it really shouldn’t matter if they did. The reasonable expectation of privacy goes away when you submit anything to government agencies of any level — that includes photographs. When you’ve applied to the government for the privileges of using public roadways, you’ve agreed to the rules of the road. Those rules include allowing an image of yourself, along with other identifying information, to be placed into a public database. That information is understood to be used by law enforcement agencies when necessary, and it can be helpful in situations where someone is lost or wanted. If technology can be used to search those photos to identify people who’ve broken the law and are being actively sought by law enforcement, we see no problem with the state allowing the federal government to use it in that way. That includes people who are in the country illegally. Yes, that causes a conflict in states where illegal immigrants are allowed to have drivers licenses but it shouldn’t be much of an issue in a state like Arizona, where state and federal law are more in sync when it comes to immigration law.