DHS announces results of 2020 privacy technology demonstration
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has published the results of the 2020 Privacy Technology Demonstration (2020 Demo). S&T hosted a first-of-its-kind event to understand the product landscape of technologies that can assist in protecting the privacy of individuals appearing in photos and videos. Five privacy systems participated in the event, demonstrating their ability to detect and blur faces in a challenge video created by S&T. These results are available through S&T’s Maryland Test Facility (MdTF) website, which supports DHS to test technologies and evaluate operational processes.
At large events or in an airport, video surveillance is a useful tool for public safety planning for crowd control or deploying the right number of responders. Recognizing the privacy concerns arising from use of video surveillance, S&T reached out to industry to understand how privacy enhancing technologies can be used to protect individual privacy in these circumstances. This was the first time DHS has partnered with industry to evaluate technologies intended to protect privacy by blurring or obfuscating faces.