Backers of the ban say facial recognition threatens civil liberties. Photograph: Alamy

The use of facial recognition tech has been banned in San Francisco

San Francisco is now officially the first city in the United States to ban police and other government agencies from using facial recognition technology. The people who supported the ban said that facial recognition technology is flawed and a serious threat to civil liberties.

Aaron Peskin, the supervisor who won the legislation said that they are all for good community policing but they don’t want to live in a police state. He also added that facial recognition technology is not just about a flawed technology but also an invasive surveillance of the public commons.

Furthermore, a technology and civil liberties attorney, Matt Cagle stated that the decision to ban the use of facial recognition technology won’t make people safer, but it will make people less free. “The legislation was a positive step towards slowing the rise of technologies that may infringe on the rights of communities of color immigrants” Cagle added.

On the other hand, Meredith Serra, a member of a resident public safety group Stop Crime argued that the police needed all the help they could get, not to mention in a city with high rates of property crime. Serra thinks that it is unreasonable that people expect to have privacy in public spaces given the proliferation of cellphones and surveillance.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/14/san-francisco-facial-recognition-police-ban