Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Boston Just Banned Its Government From Using Facial Recognition Technology

Boston Just Banned Its Government From Using Facial Recognition Technology

Citing “racial bias in facial surveillance,” the Boston City Council voted unanimously to stop the use of facial recognition by public agencies.
The Boston City Council voted unanimously to ban the city government, including police, from using facial recognition technology on Wednesday, making Boston the largest city on the East Coast to do so.

The law makes it illegal for Boston or city officials to "obtain, retain, possess, access, or use" facial recognition technology. It's also now illegal for the city government to enter into contracts that permit the use of facial recognition technology.

Five other cities in Massachusetts - including Springfield, Cambridge, Northampton, Brookline, and Somerville - have banned the governmental use of facial recognition in the past year. San Francisco and Oakland have passed similar bans.

The ordinance noted that facial recognition technology is “less accurate for African American and [Asian American and Pacific Islander] faces” and that “racial bias in facial surveillance has the potential to harm communities of color who are already facing increased levels of surveillance and harassment."

“I think that there’s a good reason to ban this technology right now - because it’s unreliable - and moving forward, we have to also consider whether just because something is possible, that it’s the right thing to do,” Councillor Liz Breadon said in Wednesday’s meeting. “Surveilling our population at large and doing facial identification is not necessarily the way we want to go in a free society.”

The law still allows Boston police and officials to follow up on any tips from other law enforcement agencies that may have been generated through facial recognition. For instance, if the FBI shared a list of suspects with the Boston Police Department that was generated with the help of facial recognition, the department could use that information.

The ordinance was introduced with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been advocating against facial recognition with its “Press Pause Face Surveillance” campaign, which concentrates on passing citywide restrictions on facial recognition technology.

“To effectively address police abuses and systemic racism, we must address the tools that exacerbate those long-standing crises,” Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “Face surveillance supercharges the policing of Black and brown communities, and tramples on everyone’s rights to anonymity and privacy.”

A 2018 ACLU report found that Rekognition, a facial recognition tool that Amazon sells to police, falsely matched 28 members of Congress with people in mugshots. Earlier this month, the company said it would pause selling facial recognition to law enforcement for one year but refused to say how many police departments have used or currently use Rekognition.

BriefCam - a company that helps police analyze surveillance footage and recognize faces - claimed in marketing materials that it helped police investigate the Boston Marathon bombing. It’s unclear what, if any, role the company played in arresting the suspects.

According to documents viewed by BuzzFeed News, businesses and police departments in the Boston metropolitan area have also used Clearview AI, a company that offers facial recognition software powered by more than 3 billion photos taken from social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A BuzzFeed News investigation in February revealed that more than 2,200 entities have run searches with Clearview, ranging from federal officials at the Justice Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to local police departments and private companies including Macy’s and Kohl’s.

Some of those entities are based in the Boston area. For instance, Boston Properties, a real estate company in the city, had run dozens of Clearview searches as of February, based on documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News. The neighboring Cambridge Police Department ran over 100 searches, the Revere Police Department ran more than 70 searches, and the Somerville Police Department ran at least one Clearview scan, according to those documents.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
×