S.T.O.P. Condemns Facial Recognition Arrest Of Innocent Black Pregnant Woman

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Facial Recognition Arrest Of Innocent Black Pregnant Woman (New York, NY, 8/7/2023) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a privacy and civil rights group, condemns the false arrest of Porcha Woodruff, an innocent Black woman who was then eight-months pregnant, by the Detroit Police Department after a wrongful automated facial recognition match. Falsely accused of robbery and carjacking, Woodruff was held in jail for 11 hours as she was having contractions and sharp pain before she was released on a $100,000 personal bond and then immediately hospitalized for dehydration. The civil rights group strongly condemned the false arrest and renewed its call for a national ban on facial recognition.   SEE: The New York Times -  Eight Months Pregnant and Arrested After False Facial Recognition Match  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/business/facial-recognition-false-arrest.html   “Facial recognition is always biased, we just usually can’t see it,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “This is just the latest proof that the technology tracking us every day is poised to wrongly accuse Black, Latinx, and Asian Americans of crimes they never committed. No one should be put in a jail cell because of a biased algorithm. Lawmakers have avoided action for far too long and we must ban facial recognition.”   The civil rights group continues to call on lawmakers in New York to outlaw facial recognition. In May, the New York City Council held a hearing on legislation supported by the group, which would ban many forms of facial recognition across the city.   SEE: Press Release - Electeds, Advocates Rally Against Facial Recognition Ahead Of City Council Hearing On Bans https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/5/3/electeds-advocates-rally-against-facial-recognition-ahead-of-city-council-hearing-on-bans In 2021, a Black teenage girl was barred from entering a Detroit roller skating rink due to a false facial recognition match. That same month, S.T.O.P. released Scan City: A Decade of NYPD Facial Recognition Abuse, a research report that highlights how facial recognition technology is especially inaccurate in identifying Black women and girls.   SEE: The Verge - Black teen barred from skating rink by inaccurate facial recognition https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/15/22578801/black-teen-skating-rink-inaccurate-facial-recognition Research Report - Scan City: A Decade of NYPD Facial Recognition Abuse https://www.stopspying.org/scan-city 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 © 2021 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.