Oakland , California, has become the third city in the United Statesto ban software from local government agencies. The Oakland City Council voted unanimously to ban the use of such technologies, bringing the issue of surveillance and privacy .
City officials made an amendment to Surveillance and Community Safety ordinance and were able to make this decision.
Oakland police have not yet used technology and it appears they will not do so in the future.
City Council President Rebecca Kaplansupported the council's decision, emphasizing that facial recognition software has many technological limitations, errors, and may also be biased against minorities.
Studies have shown that facial recognition systems are often biased against women and some minority groups . Amazon 's software , for example, has been found to have vulnerabilities that have resulted in inaccurate recognition results. However, it is still used by authorities.
The use of these technologies by authoritiesgives them the ability to monitor people more than ever before.
It appears that Oakland followed the example of San Francisco, which made the same decision in May.
City officials approved the ban in an effort to protect residents' private lives.
Under the San Francisco bill, US police would have to operate with full transparency and report when and for what reasons they need to use facial recognition applications.
According to the San Francisco ordinance, facial recognition technology endangers the people's civil rights and civil liberties. This means that disadvantages of the technology outweigh its supposed benefits.
Somerville has also banned facial recognition software in order to protect its residents.
