The conversation on face recognition technology is just getting started
In 2019, face recognition technology became an integral part of the public debate about privacy. In 2020, these conversations will come to a head. For a number of years, face recognition was used relatively inconspicuously, by law enforcement secretly generating investigative leads with the technology, for security at sporting events and concerts, or cell phones unlocking with their owner’s face.
A number of investigative reports and studies revealed, however, just how widespread the technology was — and how, in the absence of any rules around its development or use, it was being built and deployed in seriously problematic ways. In the wake of these troubling revelations — including, for instance, that the NYPD attempted to identify a suspect using a photo of actor Woody Harrelson — the public began taking note of just how much of a risk this technology posed to civil rights and liberties. And public officials across the political spectrum have responded, incorporating face recognition into their legislative and regulatory agendas.
2019 saw local bans on law enforcement’s use of face recognition technology in San Francisco; Oakland, CA; Berkeley, CA; Somerville, MA; and Brookline, MA. A number of other states and localities considered bans or moratoria as well, and California banned its use in conjunction with police-worn body cameras. On the federal level, a number of bills were introduced related to both government agency and private sector use of face recognition. The late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), often political adversaries, joined forces in the House Judiciary Committee to discuss the harms of the technology, planning to introduce bipartisan legislation. Activists and advocates on both the grassroots and national level have been organizing against the deployment of face recognition. Clearly, the issue has seeped into public consciousness.
2020 will bear the fruit of the research, advocacy, and legislative efforts that coalesced in 2019 and the preceding years. A House Oversight subcommittee hearing on the national security implications of face recognition is planned for the coming year. A task force convened by Ohio’s Attorney General to study how the state uses face recognition is releasing its recommendations in 2020. States like Michigan and Massachusetts are seriously considering moratoria on the government’s use of face recognition, and the city of Portland, Oregon is considering a ban on both government and private use. A number of other states, like Washington, will be discussing state-wide privacy laws, a major component of which is face recognition. The same is true at the federal level, where there is mounting pressure to pass a national privacy law. Even the Democratic presidential candidates are weighing in on how to regulate face recognition.
In 2019, face recognition became a household term. In 2020, it will become a critical political issue.
Jameson Spivack is a Policy Associate with the Center. You can find him on Twitter at @spivackjameson.
