San Francisco becomes 1st major city to ban facial recognition technology

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-1 on Tuesday to prohibit the use of facial recognition technology by police and municipal agencies.

The technology is being used across the United States in airports, stadiums, and other places where a large number of people gather, with law enforcement agencies turning to the tech in order to search for suspects. Police in New York City, Las Vegas, Boston, San Diego, Orlando, and Detroit use facial recognition technology, Dave Maass, senior investigative researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told The New York Times; in San Francisco, it's only used at the airport and ports, which are all under federal jurisdiction and exempt from the ban.

"I think part of San Francisco being the real and perceived headquarters for all things tech also comes with a responsibility for its local legislators," Supervisor Aaron Peskin told the Times. "We have an outsize responsibility to regulate the excesses of technology precisely because they are headquartered here." Similar bans are being considered in other California cities and Massachusetts.

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