S.T.O.P. Condemns Federal Plans to Expand Facial Recognition, Calls For Ban

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Federal Plans to Expand Facial Recognition, Calls For Ban (New York, NY, 8/25/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a privacy and civil rights group, condemns the plans by ten federal agencies to expand facial recognition, renewing its prior calls for the Biden Administration ban on the technology. Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office reported that 18 of 24 federal agencies surveyed use facial recognition and 10 will expand their surveillance by 2023. The report also revealed agencies’ use of real-time facial recognition in combination with federal watchlists, development of software to track faces of masked individuals, and expanded use of controversial vendor Clearview AI. SEE: GAO Report - Facial Recognition Technology: Current and Planned Uses by Federal Agencies https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-526.pdf The Independent - US Government Plans to Expand Use of ‘Controversial’ Facial Recognition Technology, Report Shows https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/us-facial-recognition-system-expansion-b1908477.html “At the moment many cities and states are banning facial recognition, the Biden Administration is doubling down on the technology,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “This tool is terrifying in anyone’s hands, but it’s absurd that it’s now being abused by even the Department of Agriculture. This administration promised to restore civil rights and the rule of law, but facial recognition undermines both.” This latest GAO report comes less than two months after an earlier GAO report found that of 20 agencies deploying facial recognition, six reported its use to track Black Lives Matter protesters. SEE: Daily Dot - Government report finds 20 different agencies use facial recognition https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gao-facial-recognition-federal-agencies/ The report also comes just days after the Taliban gained control of U.S. biometric surveillance systems in Afghanistan. Combined with several federal data breaches, the episode highlights what many civil rights advocates see as the unique risk of biometric surveillance: once the data is collected, it can always be repurposed by another party, whether a government, hacker, or cybercriminal. SEE: The Daily Beast - For 20 years, biometric surveillance served as a substitute for a civil society and the rule of law. Now, those tools are in the hands of the Taliban. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-taliban-now-controls-a-us-made-super-surveillance-system   Cahn continued, “facial recognition installed to ‘fight crime’ or deliver aid can easily be repurposed by foreign governments and criminals. If other databases are compromised, we can change our address, phone, or social security number, but we can’t change our face. The U.S. government cannot be trusted with this tech, particularly when it can’t keep its own data safe.” 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.