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Peter Thiel's startup helps authorities track illegal immigrants
Data-mining and analytics firm Palantir, co-founded by Gawker-bankrupting tech billionaire Peter Thiel, remains a secretive purveyor of intelligence-gathering tools. While a May report revealed the company's struggles retaining blue chip commercial clients, it still retains contracts with some government agencies. Recently-released documents uncover that the company has quietly provided assistance to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by contributing to an info analysis system that draws information from multiple law enforcement databases. This existing relationship could assist Trump in his stated plans to ramp up the US' immigration vetting process.
DC airport tries using face recognition to catch imposters
If you come to the US through Washington DC's Dulles airport in the near future, don't be surprised if Customs and Border Protection takes your snapshot before letting you through. The agency has confirmed to Motherboard that it will be testing a facial recognition system which captures a photo and compares it against your passport picture to see if you're an imposter. The relatively short (2 to 3 months) trial won't rely solely on face detection to flag suspicious travelers, but it could give customs agents a way to double-check identities without relying so heavily on keen eyes and intuition.
