Boston Police Can No Longer Use Facial Recognition Software
6 months ago
- #civil-liberties
- #facial-recognition
- #privacy
- Boston City Council unanimously bans government use of facial recognition technology, including police.
- The ban prohibits city officials from obtaining or using facial recognition and contracts with third parties for face surveillance.
- Boston police can still follow up on tips from other agencies using facial recognition.
- Five other Massachusetts cities have similar bans: Springfield, Cambridge, Northampton, Brookline, and Somerville.
- BriefCam and Clearview AI are mentioned as companies previously used by Boston police.
- The ordinance cites facial recognition's discriminatory tendencies, especially against African American and Asian American/Pacific Islander faces.
- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts supported the ordinance, advocating against facial recognition through its Press Pause Face Surveillance campaign.
- Similar bans exist in San Francisco, Oakland, and New York City (POST Act).
- Private companies like Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft are also limiting or halting facial recognition sales to law enforcement.
- The ordinance was sponsored by councilors Michelle Wu and Ricardo Arroyo, with support from community groups.