From ACLU of Washington
Please urge King County Councilmembers to pass Ordinance No. 2021-0091 and ban government use of facial recognition technology.
King County has the chance to pass the first county-wide ban on racially biased and inaccurate facial recognition technology. Facial recognition is a privacy-invasive and racially biased technology that attempts to give the government the power to automatically identify, locate, and track people based on images of their faces.
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The ordinance is in need of public support!
- SEND A MESSAGE to King County Councilmembers here: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/please-pass-ordinance-no-2021-0091
- Individuals and groups are also encouraged to contact key Councilmembers to express their support for the ordinance. Key councilmembers who are undecided include:
Kathy Lambert
District 3
206-477-1003
Council Chair, District 6
206-477-1006
Council Vice Chair, District 8
206-477-1008
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Background: Racial and Civil Liberties Implications of Facial Recognition Technology
We are deeply concerned with FRT due to it’s inaccuracy and racial bias. There have been several reports around the US of Black men being misidentified and detained by law enforcement due to faulty FRT.
There are already reports of local law enforcement using unauthorized FRT, which is why ordinances such as the King County FRT ban are so important.
Even if FRT were perfectly accurate, we’re concerned that it would be used as a tool of oppression which would deter the expression of civil liberties such as protest and the right to attend religious gatherings.