Board votes to ban use of the controversial technology, while continuing to use it.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban the use of facial recognition by city agencies under SFPD’s Police-Civilian Relationship Program; the SFBOR also approved a new “smart” tag that will automatically identify when an operator is in a position to take personal control of a sensor.
Facial recognition technology has become ubiquitous in the tech world and at last year’s San Francisco Pride parade saw over 10,000 devices, including nearly 4,000 cameras, collected by organizers and security volunteers to document the event.
“To date, there has been very little public debate or discussion of the potential security implications and the possible negative potential impact that facial recognition technology might have on social and emotional well being,” said San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, chairman of the Supervisorial Board.
A number of companies have developed technology that tracks our expressions and movements. These have proven effective ways to quickly and easily identify individuals who may be engaged in illegal activity such as theft or solicitation.
The facial recognition technology, which is currently in development by local tech companies, will continue to be used because SFPD believes that it can help protect residents, officers and tourists. The technology also will be used to identify people at the airport who look familiar but are not, for example, wearing a seatbelt or other safety equipment.
Damien Posnareff is a BA in Business Administration from UBC College and writes about the politics of the digital age. He is a founding member of the Canadian Digital Policy Network (CDNP), and a columnist with Maclean’s. Follow him on Twitter @dposnareff
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