Senators Attempt to Halt Facial Recognition Use Pending Proper Regulation, Grant Law Enforcement Exception
Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have introduced the Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Act to stop federal government use of facial recognition until comprehensive ethical guidelines can be created. The legislation provides exceptions for some federal law enforcement use and creates a commission to recommend uses for facial recognition in the future.
Senators Booker and Merkley note the increased use of facial recognition around the world in a statement released last week introducing the new legislation. The Senators also cite a “landmark federal study” from December 2019 indicating that Asian- and African-American people were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified by facial recognition than white men.
To ensure the technology is used ethically, the lawmakers have introduced the Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Act to immediately institute a moratorium on all federal governmental use of the technology until Congress passes legislation outlining specific uses for the data.
“Technology is evolving and advancing every day, and often these advancements bring improvements to our quality of life, our economy, and even our public safety,” said Senator Merkley in the statement. “But Congress has an important responsibility to make sure that the government does not abuse emerging technology in ways that violate Americans’ right to privacy or that disproportionately and wrongfully single out Americans of color. Facial recognition technology is both a powerful and a problematic new frontier. Before this unregulated market becomes too big to tame, Congress needs to put a moratorium on federal use of facial recognition while we develop responsible and ethical guidelines for its use going forward.”
The legislation would also prohibit the use of federal funds by state and local government for investing in or purchasing the technology.
Under the bill, a commission would be formed to consider and create recommendations for using facial recognition in a way that upholds public safety while protecting public privacy. The commission would have 18 months to issue its recommendations to Congress.
The bill includes limited exceptions for law enforcement use of facial recognition pursuant to warrants issued by a court.
“Facial recognition is a powerful and rapidly evolving technology, but without proper oversight it poses a serious risk to privacy and safety,” Senator Booker said in the release. “Facial recognition technology has been demonstrated to be often inaccurate--misidentifying and disproportionately targeting women and people of color. To protect consumer privacy and safety, Congress must work to set the rules of the road for responsible uses of this technology by the federal government.”