Page 2 - aruba-today-20190514

A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 14 May 2019
Already, a handful of big guidelines. eral high-profile annual pa-
box stores across the U.S. The city's proposed face- rades. They want to make
are trying out cameras with recognition ban is part of sure police can keep using
facial recognition that can broader legislation aimed merchants and residents'
guess their customers' age, at regulating the use of video surveillance in inves-
gender or mood as they surveillance by city depart- tigations without bureau-
walk by, with the goal of ments. The legislation ap- cratic hassles.
showing them targeted, plies only to San Francisco Joel Engardio, vice presi-
real-time ads on in-store government and would not dent of grassroots group
video screens. affect companies or peo- Stop Crime SF, wants the
If San Francisco adopts a ple who want to use the city to be flexible.
ban, other cities, states or technology. It also would "Our point of view is, rather
even Congress could fol- not affect the use of facial than a blanket ban forever,
low, with lawmakers from recognition at San Fran- why not a moratorium so
both parties looking to cisco International Airport, we're not using problem-
curtail government surveil- where security is mostly atic technology, but we
lance and others hoping to overseen by federal agen- open the door for when
This photo taken Tuesday, May 7, 2019, shows a security camera
in the Financial District of San Francisco. restrict how businesses an- cies. technology improves?" he
Associated Press alyze the faces, emotions The Board of Supervisors is said.
and gaits of an unsuspect- scheduled to vote on the Such a moratorium is under
ID TECH University's Center on Priva- ing public. bill Tuesday. consideration in the Massa-
Continued from Front cy and Technology. "It's not The California Legislature is San Francisco police say chusetts Legislature, where
Efforts to restrict its use are like cookies on a browser. considering a proposal pro- they stopped testing face it has the backing of Re-
getting pushback from law There's something about hibiting the use of facial ID recognition in 2017. Spokes- publican and Democratic
enforcement groups and this technology that really technology on body cam- man David Stevenson said senators.
the tech industry, though sets the hairs on the back eras. A bipartisan bill in the in a statement the depart- Often, a government's fa-
it's far from a united front. of people's heads up." U.S. Senate would exempt ment looks forward to "de- cial recognition efforts hap-
Microsoft, while opposed to Without regulations barring police applications but set veloping legislation that pen in secret or go unno-
an outright ban, has urged law enforcement from ac- limits on businesses analyz- addresses the privacy con- ticed. In Massachusetts, the
lawmakers to set limits on cessing driver's license da- ing people's faces without cerns of technology while motor vehicle registry has
the technology, warning tabases, people who have their consent. balancing the public safety used the technology since
that leaving it unchecked never been arrested could Legislation similar to San concerns of our growing, 2006 to prevent driver's li-
could enable an oppres- be part of virtual police Francisco's is pending in international city." cense fraud, and some po-
sive dystopia reminiscent line-ups without their knowl- Oakland, California, and Supervisor Aaron Peskin ac- lice agencies have used it
of George Orwell's novel edge, skeptics of the tech- on Thursday another pro- knowledges his legislation, as a tool for detectives.
"1984." nology say. posed ban was introduced called the "Stop Secret Sur- "It is technology we use,"
"Face recognition is one They worry people will one in Somerville, Massachu- veillance Ordinance," isn't said Massachusetts State
of those technologies that day not be able to go to a setts. very tech-friendly. But pub- Police Lt. Tom Ryan, adding
people get how creepy park, store or school with- Bedoya said a ban in San lic oversight is critical given that "we tend not to get too
it is," said Alvaro Bedoya, out being identified and Francisco, the "most tech- the potential for abuse, he involved in publicizing" that
who directs Georgetown tracked. nologically advanced city said. fact. Ryan and the agency
in our country," would send The technology often mis- declined to answer further
a warning to other police fires. Studies have shown questions about how it's
departments thinking of try- error rates in facial-analysis used.
ing out the imperfect tech- systems built by Amazon, Massachusetts Sen. Cyn-
nology. But Daniel Castro, IBM and Microsoft were far thia Creem, a Democrat
vice president of the in- higher for darker-skinned and sponsor of the mora-
dustry-backed Information women than lighter- torium bill, said she worries
Technology and Innova- skinned men. about a lack of standards
tion Foundation, said the Even if facial recognition protecting the public from
ordinance is too extreme to were perfectly accurate, inaccurate or biased facial
serve as a model. its use would pose a severe recognition technology.
"It might find success in San threat to civil rights, espe- Until better guidelines ex-
Francisco, but I will be sur- cially in a city with a rich ist, she said, "it shouldn't be
prised if it finds success in a history of protest and ex- used" by government.
lot of other cities," he said. pression, said Matt Cagle, The California Highway
San Francisco is home to attorney at the ACLU of Patrol does not use face
tech innovators such as Northern California. recognition technology,
Uber, Airbnb and Twitter, "If facial recognition were spokeswoman Fran Clader
but the city's relationship added to body cameras or said.
with the industry is testy. public-facing surveillance California Department of
Some supervisors in City feeds, it would threaten the Motor Vehicles spokesman
Hall are calling for a tax on ability of people to go to a Marty Greenstein says facial
stock-based compensa- protest or hang out in Do- recognition technology "is
tion in response to a wave lores Park without having specifically not allowed on
of San Francisco compa- their identity tracked by the DMV photos." State Justice
nies going public, including city," he said, referring to a Department spokeswoman
Lyft and Pinterest. popular park in San Fran- Jennifer Molina said her
At the same time, San Fran- cisco's Mission District. agency does not use face
cisco is big on protecting Local critics of San Fran- ID technology, and policy
immigrants, civil liberties cisco's legislation, however, states "DOJ and request-
and privacy. In Novem- worry about hampering ers shall not maintain DMV
ber, nearly 60% of voters police investigations in a images for the purpose of
approved a proposition to city with a high number of creating a database" un-
strengthen data privacy vehicle break-ins and sev- less authorized.q