"Facebook said Tuesday that it will shut down its facial recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people amid growing concerns about the technology and its misuse by governments, police and others."
"Another problem with face recognition is that in order to use it, companies have had to create unique faceprints of huge numbers of people — often without their consent and in ways that can be used to fuel systems that track people, said Nathan Wessler of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has fought Facebook and other companies over their use of the technology."
"At least seven states and nearly two dozen cities have limited government use of the technology amid fears over civil rights violations, racial bias and invasion of privacy. Debate over additional bans, limits and reporting requirements has been underway in about 20 state capitals this legislative session, according to data compiled by the Electronic Privacy Information Center in May of this year."
Our appreciation to the LA Times for the article
FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE FOR POLICE BODY CAMERAS
"Last week San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance banning facial recognition software by law enforcement and other local agencies. The action requires city departments first to get approval to use surveillance technology, including license-plate readers."
Are Canadian police agencies using facial recognition software?
"For years, our federal politicians have acknowledged that indiscriminate use of mass facial recognition technology was proliferating in Canada with no regulatory limits or control. But despite acknowledging valid concerns around its use, they’ve taken no steps to regulate it."
https://openmedia.org/article/item/the-first-police-moratorium-on-facial-recognition-in-canada