Some Tech Tools Used in Investigations Can Cause Pain and Tragedies
Your image used to be yours or maybe appearing in some family videos or old photos. But technology tools like PimEyes, which was created to curb the use of copyrighted images on the web, can have other uses in investigations. Some of these use can cause real pain like the case of Cher Scarlett recently documented by CNN Business.
Scarlett next uploaded a couple pictures of herself (into PimEyes), curious if they would lead to pictures of her relatives. They didn’t, but the results stunned her anyway: tucked under some recent images of herself and mistaken matches showing photos of Britney Spears and the pop star’s sister, Jamie Lynn, were pictures of a younger version of Scarlett. They were pictures of a dark time she didn’t totally remember —a time at age 19 when, she said, she traveled to New York and was coerced into engaging in humiliating and, at times, violent sexual acts on camera.
“I’m looking at these pictures, and all I can think is that somebody has photoshopped my face onto porn,” Scarlett said.
According to the story, Scarlett is angry that people don’t have the right to opt in to PimEyes. The website doesn’t require users to prove who they are before they can search for themselves, which might prevent some forms of use or abuse of the service (say, an employer looking up prospective employees or a stalker looking up victims).
Legal investigator Tim Santoni says, “the technology tools we use in this business can be very useful and powerful, but in the wrong hands they can create quite a bit of darkness.” He continues, “also, just because someone sees a tech tool on TV or even in this blog doesn’t mean its use is always ethical…or admissible.”
Scarlett, meanwhile, remains concerned about the potential for facial-recognition technology in the future. “We need to take a hard stop and look at technology — especially this kind of technology — and say, ‘What are we doing? Are we regulating this enough?'” she said.
Pros know how best to use these powerful tools and when to use them to benefit your case. We know that success or failure in the courtroom or during the settlement process depends on having the very best, most detailed information about a case. That’s why great attorneys and law firms across the country work with the worldwide team of Santoni Investigations who will make sure you know everything to maximize the settlement process or win your case in court!