Regulate Facial Recognition, Don’t Ban It

pa href=https://www.cato.org/people/matthew-feeney hreflang=undMatthew Feeney/a
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pa href=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/virginia-lawmakers-lifting-ban-facial-technology-83372991spanspanspanspanRecent news/span/span/span/span/aspanspan from Virginia highlights flaws with bans on facial recognition. In 2021, lawmakers in Virginia passed one of the strictest facial recognition bans in the United States. Later this year, the same lawmakers will lift the ban. /span/spana href=https://wtvbam.com/2022/05/12/u-s-cities-are-backing-off-banning-facial-recognition-as-crime-rises/spanspanspanspanOther jurisdictions/span/span/span/span/aspanspan across the country plan to reverse similar bans over fears of an increase in violent crime. Virginian officials have seemingly fallen into accepting anbsp;false choice between anbsp;ban on facial recognition and its ubiquitous, unchecked use within law enforcement. Yet there are policies that would allow police to use facial recognition while also protecting civil liberties. /span/span/p
pspanspanI have outlined these policies on this blog /span/spana href=https://www.cato.org/blog/should-police-facial-recognition-be-bannedspanspanspanspanbefore/span/span/span/span/aspanspan. When Inbsp;presented those policies in 2019 there were many debates over whether police use of facial recognition should be banned. There was, as there is now, anbsp;widespread concern that the use of facial recognition within police departments would result in racial minorities being /span/spana href=https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2020/racial-discrimination-in-face-recognition-technology/disproportionately misidentified by the technology/aspanspan. This concern prompted /span/spana href=https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/spanspanspanspancampaigns across the country /span/span/span/span/aspanspanto ban the use of facial recognition. Some of these campaigns have resulted in bans such as the ban passed last year by Virginia lawmakers. /span/span/p
pspanspanIt is worth citizens being concerned about new and emerging surveillance technologies disproportionately affecting minorities. The/span/spana href=https://www.cato.org/american-big-brotherspanspanspanspan history of American surveillance/span/span/span/span/aspanspan is long and full of examples of law enforcement snooping on racial, religious, and political minorities. Absent regulation and adequate transparency and oversight we should expect more episodes of mass surveillance to emerge. /span/spanbrbrspanspanFacial recognition is an ideal technology for mass surveillance. /span/spana href=https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/in-china-facial-recognition-public-shaming-and-control-go-hand-in-hand/spanspanspanspanChinese authorities/span/span/span/span/aspanspan regularly provide depressing examples of how facial recognition can be used to surveil entire communities. However, that facial recognition can be used for mass surveillance does not warrant outright bans on the technology. It is not hard to imagine beneficial uses of facial recognition technology. Facial recognition could help police find missing children and adults with dementia who are lost. It can also be used to identify suspects in violent crimes. /span/spanbrbrspanspanFortunately, lawmakers do not have to choose between anbsp;ban on facial recognition or its unfettered use by police departments. Here are the policies Inbsp;outlined in 2019 that would allow police to use facial recognition while also safeguarding civil liberties:/span/spanbrbrspanspan1) Ban on real‐​time capability/span/span/p
pspanspan2) Database restrictions/span/span/p
pspanspan3) Open source/​data requirement/span/span/p
pspanspan4) Public hearing requirement/span/span/p
pspanspan5) Threshold requirement/span/span/p
pspanspanYou can read more on each of these recommendations /span/spana href=https://www.cato.org/blog/should-police-facial-recognition-be-bannedspanspanspanspanhere/span/span/span/span/a./p