San Francisco Bans City Use of Facial-Recognition Tech Tools
- Concern over risk of rights abuse spurs first such law in U.S
- Ordinance doesn’t prohibit private applications of cameras
Attendees interact with a facial recognition demonstration at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Photographer: David McNew/AFP via Getty Images
Concerned that some new surveillance technologies may be too intrusive, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban the use of facial-recognition tools by its police and other municipal departments.
The Board of Supervisors approved the Stop Secret Surveillance ordinance Tuesday, culminating a re-examination of city policy that began with the false arrest of Denise Green in 2014. Green’s Lexus was misidentified as a stolen vehicle by an automated license-plate reader. She was pulled over by police, forced out of the car and onto her knees at gunpoint by six officers. The city spent $500,000 to settle lawsuits linked to her detention.