More Than 30 Groups Demand Law Enforcement Ban Facial Recognition Technology
Truthout, Sept. 5, 2019. A diverse coalition of advocacy groups representing more than 15 million people launched a grassroots pressure campaign Thursday calling on local, state, and federal lawmakers to completely ban law enforcement use of facial recognition technology, which the organizations warn is “spreading like an epidemic” and poses a dire threat to fundamental privacy rights.
“Facial recognition is one of the most authoritarian and invasive forms of surveillance ever created,” said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future (FFTF), which is leading the campaign. “No amount of regulation can fix the dangers inherent in this form of Big Brother automaton. We need to ban this technology outright, treat it like biological or nuclear weapons, and prevent it from proliferating before it’s too late.”
According to FFTF, opposition to facial recognition technology is “reaching a boiling point” as over 30 major organizations have backed the new campaign, including United We Dream, Greenpeace USA, RootsAction, and Color of Change. The organizations plan to flood lawmakers with letters and calls demanding nothing less than a total ban on law enforcement use of facial recognition technology, which is increasingly being put to use by government agencies at major U.S. airports and elsewhere across the nation.
Myaisha Hayes, national organizer on criminal justice and tech at MediaJustice, another group backing the campaign, said in a statement that facial recognition technology disproportionately violates the rights of minority communities...
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- A live demonstration uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition at the Horizon Robotics exhibit at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, Jan. 2019.