“If the technology is flawed and the policing is flawed, then the whole thing is flawed.”

Robert Williams
wrongfully arrested in Michigan due to false facial recognition match

As millions of Americans rise up – both on the streets and at the ballot box – to demand policing reform as part of the movement for Black lives, it is time for Congressional leaders to look closely at policing tools that facilitate discriminatory policing – including facial recognition technology. 

That’s why Congress needs to pass the “Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act,” introduced by Reps. Pramila Jayapal,  Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Yvette Clark as well as Senators Edward J. Markey and Jeff Merkley, to stop government use of biometric technology, including facial recognition tools. Take action now!

Studies have shown that facial recognition technology is more prone to misidentify people of color than white people. Earlier this year, Robert Williams was arrested and held for more than a day on charges of larceny, despite the police only having a false facial recognition technology match with an old driver’s license photo.

Beyond its discriminatory impact, face recognition technology is overly invasive, forcing us all into a perpetual lineup. Our faces are caught on camera without our consent and fed into algorithms. In the U.S., this kind of technology has already been used to identify people protesting police brutality, worker’s rights, and climate change. Globally, it has been deployed to systematically control religious minority groups, suppress democratic movements, and facilitate other oppressive practices.

Among other reforms, this bill would:

• Prohibit the use of facial recognition technology by federal law enforcement agencies;
• Prohibit the use of other biometric technologies, including voice recognition, gate recognition, and recognition of other characteristics by federal agencies;
• Prohibit the use of federal dollars for biometric surveillance systems;

Tell your Representatives in Congress to sign on as co-sponsors & pass the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act now!