San Francisco bans facial recognition over 'Big Brother' concerns
San Francisco officially became the first U.S. city to ban the use of facial recognition technology by its local government.
The city, known as a mecca for technology innovation, passed an anti-surveillance measure on Tuesday, which included the proposed ban on the government's use of facial recognition systems.
“The propensity for facial recognition technology to endanger civil rights and civil liberties substantially outweighs its purported benefits, and the technology will exacerbate racial injustice and threaten our ability to live free of continuous government monitoring,” the text of the measure reads.
The ordinance goes on to say that determinations about surveillance technologies should be made after public input has been solicited and given, and safeguards need to be in place to protect the rights of residents.
The city’s Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance by a vote of 8 to 1, which also bans the local police department – along with all other city agencies – from using the technology. The ability of businesses and residents to use the technology is not affected by the measure.
Mounting privacy concerns have caused other cities to consider adopting similar measures – including Oakland, California.
Some police departments across the country are already using the technology to identify suspects from things like mug shot photos.
Airports and airlines are using it, too. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told FOX Business last month that his company had started using facial recognition at its terminals to speed up international flights and board them quicker.
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Microsoft, which has its own facial recognition products, has urged oversight of the technology. In a December blog post, President Brad Smith said it’s important for governments to act.
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“The facial recognition genie, so to speak, is just emerging from the bottle. Unless we act, we risk waking up five years from now to find that facial recognition services have spread in ways that exacerbate societal issues. By that time, these challenges will be much more difficult to bottle back up,” Smith wrote.
Smith also reportedly refused to let a police department use its technology. Amazon has sold its version – Rekognition – to some law enforcement agencies, along with guidelines. Google is also in the space.