Amnesty International has called for a total ban on the use, development, production and sale of facial recognition technology for the purpose of mass surveillance by police and other government agencies, and said it exacerbates racist practices.
This came on the occasion of its launch yesterday, Tuesday, of a global campaign to ban the use of these systems, as a form of mass surveillance that would lead to the exacerbation of racist practices by the police and threaten the right to demonstrate and freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.
The campaign, which was launched under the slogan “Ban facial recognition technology”, starts in New York City and is scheduled to expand later to focus on the use of facial recognition technology in other parts of the world during 2021.
systemic racism
According to Amnesty, this technology would exacerbate “systemic racism” because of its disproportionate impact on people of color compared to others, in addition to the discrimination and violations of their human rights they already face at the hands of law enforcement officials, Blacks are also the most vulnerable to misidentification using facial recognition systems.
“There is a risk that law enforcement agencies will use facial recognition technology as a weapon against marginalized groups in various countries of the world,” says Matt Mahmoudi, a researcher on artificial intelligence and human rights at Amnesty International. “From New Delhi to New York, this technology that invades one’s privacy can be exploited. His identity will be turned into a curse on him, and his human rights are wasted. “
“New Yorkers should be able to carry out their daily activities without being tracked by using facial recognition technology. Several major cities in the United States have already banned facial recognition, and New York should follow suit,” he added.
Facial recognition technology ban
As part of the campaign “Ban facial recognition technology” a website was created that allows New Yorkers to comment on the law’s use of facial recognition technology by the police “General supervision of monitoring techniques”
At a later stage in the campaign, they will be able to submit requests and inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act, to find out where facial recognition technology is being used in their neighborhoods.
It is planned to expand the aforementioned site in May, when Amnesty International’s “decryption” network, which is a global component of online activists, will be able to assist in the geolocation of surveillance devices capable of using facial recognition technology in New York, which enables residents to locate Where this technology is used precisely.
Source:
Amnesty: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/01/ban-dangerous-facial-recognition-technology-that-amplifies-racist-policing/