Does Facial Recognition Technology Make You Grimace? New Website Offers Map of Where It’s Being Used by Law Enforcement and How to Get It Banned.

By B.N. Frank

Think law enforcement using facial recognition technology to catch criminals isn’t a big deal? You may want to review new website – Ban Facial Recognition – and reevaluate your position. According to it:

Facial recognition surveillance programs identify the wrong person up to 98% of the time. These errors have real-world impacts, including harassment, wrongful imprisonment, and deportation.

Facial recognition software programmatically misidentifies people of color, women, and children —supercharging discrimination and putting vulnerable people at greater risk of systemic abuse.

Once our biometric information is collected and stored in government databases, it’s an easy target for identity thieves or state-sponsored hackers. Successful attacks have already happened, and will only grow more commonplace as government surveillance expands.

More unsettling information is provided at the website as well as a U.S. map of where this technology is being used by law enforcement. Kudos to San Francisco, CA, Oakland, CA, and Somerville, MA for already passing local ordinances banning it.

Facial recognition technology is also being used in some stores including Kroger and Walgreens for what is referred to as “Surveillance Capitalism.” That could be why it seems like more shoppers are wearing sunglasses now. Then again the sunglasses could be for the blinding LED light bulbs.