Like San Francisco, Chicago Should Ban Facial Recognition Technology

Photo taken from “CHICAGO’S VIDEO SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS: A PERVASIVE AND UNREGULATED THREAT TO OUR PRIVACY” a report from the ACLU of Illinois

Facial recognition technology has been used by cities across the U.S., however, it is often for controversial purposes. A landlord for in Brooklyn had planned to replace the key fobs with facial recognition. Amazon was reported to have sold its facial recognition software to immigration officials. Police departments in both Chicago and Detroit have purchased real-time face surveillance technology.

However, several cities are pushing back on the use of this technology. Leading the pack, San Francisco became the first place in the U.S. to ban the city’s purchase and use of facial recognition surveillance technology with its “Stop Secret Surveillance” ordinance. Similar laws are being discussed in Oakland, CA; Somerville, MA and elsewhere.

Following San Francisco’s example, the city of Chicago should push a similar measure to protect its communities from this intrusion.

Many critics argue that facial recognition technology invades our privacy and diminishes our due process rights. One of the most pernicious examples of this is China using facial recognition technology to surveil its Uyghur Muslim minority. Its potential for mass surveillance is frightening, and according to experts, there is no place where this could be a more plausible reality than Chicago.