OAKLAND — Privacy advocates in Oakland are backing a potential ban of facial recognition technology.
The ban would restrict the city from using any automated technology process that helps in identifying or verifying a person’s face.
“I shouldn’t have to submit to constant surveillance just by walking outside my front door,” said Brian Hofer, chairman of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission.
Hofer said he believes the technology takes away a person’s anonymity and that it often makes mistakes with matching faces.
“It disproportionately misidentifies women and people of color, so we see it as a reckless expansion of a technology,” Hofer said.
Related
Crime prevention groups argue police need the technology to better identify criminals.
Last year, the ACLU tested Amazon’s facial recognition system, Rekognition, and found the software falsely matched more than two dozen members of Congress, including people of color.
If passed, Oakland city departments would not be allowed to use the technology, but private companies, like Amazon and Google, would remain free to use it.
The measure would need to pass the Public Safety Committee before it's sent to Oakland City Council for approval.
San Francisco is also considering a similar ban.