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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Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Tuesday that passing the PRESS Act is "more important now than ever before when we've heard some in the previous administration talk about going after the press in one way or another," a reference to Republican President-elect Donald Trump's threats to jail journalists who refuse to reveal the sources of leaks. Trump, who has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people," repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to "kill this bill."
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
Dhillon's most prominent work includes founding the Center for American Liberty, a legal organization that focuses heavily on anti-transgender cases in blue states. The organization's "featured cases" section highlights several lawsuits, such as Chloe Cole's case against Kaiser Permanente; a lawsuit challenging a Colorado school's use of a transgender student's preferred name; a case against a California school district seeking to implement policies that would forcibly out transgender students; and a lawsuit against Vermont for denying a foster care license to a family unwilling to comply with nondiscrimination policies regarding transgender youth.
Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
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