S.T.O.P. Condemns G.A.O. Facial Recognition Findings, Calls For Ban

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns G.A.O. Facial Recognition Findings, Calls For Ban (New York, NY 9/18/2023) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a privacy and civil rights group, condemns the findings of a new Government Accountability Office report that showed seven law enforcement agencies within the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have used facial recognition without fulfilling departmental privacy requirements, including the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, among others. The report also found that none of the seven agencies initially required training before staff used facial recognition. S.T.O.P. renewed it’s call on President Biden to order a ban on continued use of facial recognition by federal law enforcement agencies. SEE: Report - Facial Recognition Services: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Take Actions to Implement Training, and Policies for Civil Liberties https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105607?utm_source=onepager&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email_HSJ “It’s long past time for President Biden to take these surveillance abuses seriously,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “His administration continues to allow this racist and dystopian technology to be abused. Facial recognition is clearly incompatible with President Biden’s promises to focus on racial justice and the restoration of rule of law. It’s past time that he shows that he cares about civil rights.” The GAO Report states that available data shows six of the seven agencies conducted up to 60,000 searches without training in place. The report also noted that only three of the seven agencies have any policies in place designed to protect civil liberties and rights from potential violations due to facial recognition. In 2021, S.T.O.P. condemned GAO Report findings that showed 18 of 24 federal agencies surveyed use facial recognition and 10 planned to expand their use of the technology by 2023. That same year, S.T.O.P. condemned findings from an earlier GAO report showing that of 20 federal agencies deploying facial recognition, six reported its use to track Black Lives Matter protesters. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns Federal Plans to Expand Facial Recognition, Calls For Ban https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2021/8/25/stop-condemns-federal-plans-to-expand-facial-recognition-calls-for-ban Press Release - 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   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.