US to restrict police use of facial-recognition systems

A group of American congressmen introduced a bill to limit the use of facial-recognition technologies by police in the United States.

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\’The Facial Recognition Act\’ would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant. Police must first present substantial evidence of a crime before deploying the technology unrestrained in investigations, the authors say.

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The bill sets out the list of circumstances under which facial-recognition can be used. These include immigration controls, peaceful protests, or establishing the identity of a suspect in the commission of a crime.

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The bill would also require law enforcement agencies to annually test facial-recognition systems and publish public reports on their use. Officers would be required to purge databases of photographs of minors who were acquitted or released without charges.

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According to U.S. Representative Ted Lieu of California, the main aim of the initiative is to protect Americans’ privacy from imperfect, unregulated, and sometimes discriminatory technologies.

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\”Our bill is a workable solution that restricts the use by law enforcement agencies [facial-recognition systems] to a warrant showing probable cause that the person committed a serious violent crime,\” the congressman added.

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The initiative has received support from activist groups and related organisations. Boston University School of Law Professor Woodrow Hartzog praised the bill for strengthening baseline rules and protections for Americans, \”without foreclosing stricter restrictions elsewhere.\”

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Earlier in August, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission launched the regulation of surveillance technologies, algorithms and data-security measures.

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In February, lawmakers introduced an updated bill, regulating discriminatory AI in areas such as finance, healthcare, housing, and education.

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In April 2021, Senator Ron Wyden proposed to prohibit facial-recognition systems such as Clearview AI.

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