A new law signed in California will prevent police departments in the Golden State from using facial recognition software on body cameras for the next three years.
Law Bans Use Of Facial Recognition Software On Police Body Cameras
The bill, passed by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, will take effect at the start of next year and expires by 2023.
The new law will enable people to take legal action against police officers who use any "biometric surveillance system" in their body cameras. Two other states, Oregon and New Hampshire, have similar laws.
Ting initially wanted a permanent ban on the technology, but a compromise was made due to protests from the California Peace Officers' Association and other police advocacy groups.
The Peace Officers' Association said that no California law enforcement agency currently uses facial recognition technology in body cameras, albeit some agencies have considered adopting the technology.
Ting said he proposed the bill to address a potential problem before it becomes a major issue.
"The public wanted their officers and deputies to use body cameras to provide accountability and transparency for the community. The addition of facial recognition technology essentially turns them into 24-hour surveillance tools, giving law enforcement the ability to track our every move. We cannot become a police state," Ting said in a statement.
Potential Dangers Of Law Enforcers Using Inaccurate Facial Recognition Software
State legislators are believed to have been encouraged to pass the fill after the American Civil Liberties Union put an Amazon face recognition software to test in which the software falsely matched 26 lawmakers, including Ting, deeming them criminal suspects. More than half of these legislators are of color.
The test suggests of the biases and potential dangers of using an inaccurate technology. A similar test conducted on members of the Congress in 2018 also resulted in 28 mismatches.
