For Immediate Release
S.T.O.P. Sues NYPD For Records Of Facial Recognition Bias, Releases Facial Recognition Report
(New York, NY, 7/8/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a privacy and civil rights group, commenced a proceeding against the NYPD related to the NYPD’s refusal to produce records concerning their facial recognition software and their claim that the software does not involve racial and gender bias. The civil rights group also released a new facial recognition report titled “Scan City: A Decade of NYPD Facial Recognition Abuse.” S.T.O.P. and the leading international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, commenced the Article 78 proceeding today in New York State Supreme Court, over seven months after S.T.O.P. filed its public records request under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.
SEE: S.T.O.P. v. New York Litigation Overview
https://www.stopspying.org/nypd-facial-rec-bias
S.T.O.P. v. New York Complaint (Article 78 Petition)
https://www.stopspying.org/s/NOT_ASSIGNED_Surveillance_Technolog__PETITION_1.pdf
Report - Scan City: A Decade of NYPD Facial Recognition Abuse
https://www.stopspying.org/scan-city
“The NYPD is quick to claim their facial recognition is not biased, but they have refused to provide us the data,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Facial recognition bias potentially puts BIPOC New Yorkers, particularly Black women, at risk of wrongful arrest and police violence. The NYPD has publicly touted the claimed “accuracy” of their facial recognition software, but when we ask for proof, there is none. This just does not add up.”
SEE: CNN Business - A false facial recognition match sent this innocent Black man to jail
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/tech/nijeer-parks-facial-recognition-police-arrest/index.html
Gothamist - NYPD Used Facial Recognition Technology In Siege Of Black Lives Matter Activist’s Apartment
https://gothamist.com/news/nypd-used-facial-recognition-unit-in-siege-of-black-lives-matter-activists-apartment
The lawsuit coincides with the release of S.T.O.P.’s latest research report, which details a decade of extensive and unregulated NYPD facial recognition surveillance. The report highlights NYPD access to tens of thousands of cameras and its cooperation with the controversial facial recognition vendor Clearview AI.
SEE: Buzzfeed News - Clearview AI Wants To Sell Its Facial Recognition Software To Authoritarian Regimes Around The World
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/clearview-ai-facial-recognition-authoritarian-regimes-22
“Police abuse of facial recognition is well-documented: it's common to doctor photos before facial recognition matching and common to accept low-quality matches,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Research Director Eleni Manis. “Even if facial recognition were used according to the book, it disproportionately misidentifies BIPOC people and in NYC depends on a vast network of surveillance cameras that violate New Yorkers' reasonable expectation of privacy. Our report explains how NYPD cheats with facial recognition, how our Constitutional rights are threatened by law enforcement use of facial recognition, and what legal and legislative remedies are being pursued across the nation."
The lawsuit comes after the U.S Government Accountability Office’s release last week of a damning report on federal facial recognition. The report found that 20 federal agencies used facial recognition. Notably, six agencies used the technology on peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters while only three agencies used the technology in response to the January 6th insurrection.
Cahn continued, “Police will inevitably turn the tools they obtain in the name of fighting right-wing extremists on Black and Brown communities. This technology biased, broken technology has no place in America."
SEE: GAO - Facial Recognition Technology: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Better Assess Privacy and Other Risks
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-518
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.
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CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn
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