October, 18 2016, 11:30am EDT
50 Advocacy Orgs Urge Justice Department to Investigate Police Use of Face Recognition
*** MEDIA CALL TODAY AT NOON ET *** Coalition Letter and Report Highlight Impact on Communities of Color
WASHINGTON
Fifty national civil rights, civil liberties, faith, and privacy organizations sent a letter today to the Justice Department urging it to investigate the increasing use and impact of face recognition by police.
The letter, sent in partnership with the ACLU and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, comes amid mounting evidence that the technology is violating the rights of millions of Americans and having a disproportionate impact on communities of color.
Also today, Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology released a report finding that police departments across the country are frequently using face recognition technologies to identify and track individuals -- whether crossing the street, captured on surveillance cameras, or attending protests. The report highlights that existing deficiencies are likely to have a disparate impact on African-Americans.
"We need to stop the widespread use of face recognition technology by police until meaningful safeguards are in place," said Neema Singh Guliani, ACLU legislative counsel. "Half of all adults in the country are in government face recognition databases, yet the vast majority of law enforcement agencies using this technology lack clear policies, audits to ensure accuracy, and transparency."
Today's letter, sent to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, was signed by 50 diverse organizations. The letter explains how federal, state and local police forces use driver license photos to identify suspects --without warrants, accuracy tests, or audits.
"This technology supercharges the racial bias that already exists in policing," said Sakira Cook, counsel with The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "For the good of the nation, we can't afford to let these inherently biased systems operate without any safeguards."
*** DIAL-IN INFORMATION FOR NOON ET MEDIA CALL:
Toll-free line: 877-876-9177 or 785-424-1666, Conference ID: Georgetown ***
Today's ACLU and Leadership Conference coalition letter is here:
https://www.aclu.org/letter/coalition-letter-department-justice-civil-rights-division-calling-investigation-disparate
The Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology report is here:
https://www.perpetuallineup.org/
This statement is online here:
https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-urges-justice-department-investigate-police-use-face-recognition
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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از: جمعیت هلال احمر جمهوری اسلامی ایران
به: همه مردم دنیا
موضوع: سند جنایت جنگی - شماره ۱۴
از تلخ ترین جنایات جنگی آمریکا و اسرائیل در ایران، حمله به خانه حلمای ۱۹ ماهه در تبریز است که ۴ نفر از اعضای خانوادهاش شهید شدند. تنها بازماندهٔ این خانواده، حلما است… https://t.co/mMw77THEyH pic.twitter.com/FIjIbMyBiw
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Secret agents swept VP Vance, who was seated next to me, into the back. I… pic.twitter.com/ZaxFeZu5p0
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