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Summary
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On January 15, 2001, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) was contacted by a reporter from the Hamilton Spectator, who was seeking information about the use of biometric face recognition technology by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Ontario casinos. The Spectator and other media subsequently reported that the OPP was secretly scanning the faces of customers at all Ontario casinos for comparison to "mug shots" in a police database.
On January 16, 2001, the Commissioner launched an investigation into the use of face recognition technology at Ontario casinos. We immediately contacted the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), an independent agency reporting to the Minister of Consumer and Business Services, responsible for regulating liquor licensing and gaming control in the province.
Our investigation unfolded as follows:
- On the afternoon of January 16, 2001, we held an initial fact-finding meeting with an AGCO staff member and two OPP officers seconded to the AGCO's Investigations Branch.
- On January 17, 2001, the Commissioner had a telephone conversation with Duncan Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the AGCO, to discuss her concerns.
- On January 17, 2001, we also met with representatives from Biometrica Systems, Inc., a U.S.-based company that provides the OPP with the face recognition technology used, including search, direct video input, and local database creation tools ("Visual Casino"); a database of known and suspected casino cheats ("Casino Information Database"); and access to a computer network that enables North American casinos to rapidly send information to each other ("Casino Information Network").
- On January 18, 2001, we sent a letter to Mr. Brown requesting that his agency provide written responses to a list of questions relating to our investigation into the AGCO's use of face recognition technology.
- On January 29, 2001, we received a letter from the AGCO with written responses to our questions.
- On February 6, 2001, the Commissioner and two staff members inspected the OPP surveillance activities relating to the use of face recognition technology at "Casino Niagara" in Niagara Falls, one of the three commercial casinos in Ontario.
Throughout the course of our investigation, we received the full and complete cooperation of the AGCO and the OPP.
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