Cities Mobilizing to Ban Facial Recognition

Tech companies are working with law enforcement agencies across the country to deploy invasive facial recognition surveillance technology—and they don’t want you to know anything about it.

That’s why we launched an interactive map detailing all publicly reported uses of facial recognition in the U.S (that we know of).

Click here to find out if facial recognition technology is being used in your town and see what you can do about it.

This map shows users 1) where facial recognition surveillance is happening, 2) where it’s spreading to next, and 3) where there are local and state efforts to rein it in. See something missing? Reply to this email and let us know.

The use of facial recognition technology by cops and other government agencies is spreading rapidly, largely in secret, and without any guidelines to protect our civil rights and civil liberties. What’s worse is that facial recognition is unreliable (so much so that police body camera company Axon refused to deploy it due to “ethical concerns”) and highly prejudiced against women, people of color, and youth.^1,2

Three U.S. cities have paved the way by passing ordinances that straight up ban the technology (and several states are considering bans too). Will Foley be next to protect its residents from the facial-recognition-fueled mass surveillance nightmare?

If you want to help kickstart a local ban, fill out the form by clicking the “JOIN A LOCAL EFFORT” button here. We’ll be in touch!

Thanks,

Evan at FFTF

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Footnotes:

1. Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmp5pj/police-body-cam-company-says-it-wont-use-facial-recognition-tech-for-now

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: https://news.mit.edu/2018/study-finds-gender-skin-type-bias-artificial-intelligence-systems-0212