S.T.O.P. Welcomes House Facial Recognition Hearing, Calls For Ban

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes House Facial Recognition Hearing, Calls For Ban (New York, NY, 7/13/21) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a privacy and civil rights group, welcomes the House Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security’s hearing on police facial recognition. S.T.O.P. renewed its call on Congress to outlaw police facial recognition and for President Biden ban the technology via executive order while legislation is being finalized. SEE: House Committee on the Judiciary - Facial Recognition Technology: Examining Its Use by Law Enforcement https://judiciary.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=4635 Washington Post - Federal agencies need stricter limits on facial recognition to protect privacy, says government watchdog https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/29/gao-facial-recognition-blm/ S.T.O.P. Condemns G.A.O. Facial Recognition Findings, Calls For Ban https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2021/6/30/stop-condemns-gao-facial-recognition-findings-calls-for-ban “Every day we allow facial recognition to continue is a day we put Americans at risk,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Elected officials at every level of government need to act immediately to stop this digital dragnet. While we’re excited to see a growing list of cities and states outlaw the technology, these local efforts need support from Washington. President Biden should immediately pause federal facial recognition, particularly in those cities and states that have already outlawed the technology. If a community has decided that this technology should be illegal, federal agencies shouldn’t get to override voters.” The House hearing highlighted testimony from Mr. Robert Williams of Farmington Hills, MI, who was falsely arrested because of facial recognition in 2020. Williams spent 18 hours in the Detroit Detention Center because of a faulty face “match.” “I don’t want anyone to walk away from my testimony thinking that if only the technology was made more accurate, its problems would be solved,” said House Witness Robert Williams. “Even if this technology does become accurate (at the expense of people like me), I don’t want my daughters’ faces to be part of some government database. I don’t want cops showing up at their door because they were recorded at a protest the government didn’t like. I don’t want this technology automating and worsening the racist policies they could be protesting. I don’t want them to have a police record for something they didn’t do — like I now do.” SEE: Testimony of Robert Williams https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU08/20210713/113906/HMTG-117-JU08-Wstate-WilliamsR-20210713.pdf The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. -- END -- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn Copyright © 2019 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.