In a shocking article published Tuesday by the Verge, it was revealed the FBI has been quietly collecting hundreds of thousands of iris scans as part an experimental program referred to as the "FBI Iris Pilot." Working together with local police departments, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Pentagon, the FBI has discreetly amassed 434,000 iris scans.

The surveillance technology, used primarily by airports and private security companies, was pitched in 2013 as a way to help police departments catch criminals in a safer and more efficient manner. At that point, the FBI already had 30,000 scans and was looking to coordinate with local and national agencies to develop a searchable database of scans taken by police departments across the nation. The iris scan, which can be taken from a distance and requires no physical contact, was to be taken upon arrest and submitted whether charges were pressed or not.

California was the first to get on board with the program, according to a memo signed by representatives from the FBI and California Department of Justice. Departments in Texas and Missouri also participate, but records show the bulk of scans in the database come from California. Riverside, Los Angeles, and San Bernadino have all submitted data to the FBI, with San Bernardino, alone, responsible for a staggering 200,000 scans. The pilot program was to last only one year before being evaluated, but a year came and went as the FBI continued to quietly stockpile private information from American citizens without their knowledge.

All agencies are required by law to conduct Privacy Impact Assessments on programs collecting personal information, but no such assessment was made on the pilot program prior to its operation. According to the Verge, an FBI representative claimed they were exempt in this case "because the pilot was conducted with limited participation for a limited period of time."

The potential ramifications of a surveillance program that can collect an average of 189 iris scans per day—from one department alone—could be severe and warrant heavy scrutiny before being implemented nationwide. Nicole Ozer, Technology and Civil Liberties Policy director at the ACLU of California, spoke out against the program. "The fact these systems have gone forward without any public debate or oversight that we've been able to find is very troubling," she said.

"You imagine 58 counties in California, and all the other places this might be around the country. If hundreds of thousands of people are being added to this system on a yearly basis, what are those implications?"

Just last month, the FBI was found to have been collecting hundreds of millions of facial scans in a separate program much like the iris pilot. A report from the Government Accountability Office showed not only that the program was being operated with an out-of-date privacy assessment, but also that tens of millions of facial scans came from "driver's license photos that were not linked to any crime."