LANSING – A bill from Rep. Isaac Robinson introduced Wednesday would create a five-year moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement.
HB 4810, which was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, would prevent the use of facial recognition software to obtain warrants or otherwise enforce the law.
“Research has already shown that facial recognition technology has significant difficulty identifying and recognizing African-American faces, leading to an unacceptable bias against these communities across the nation. Having one of the largest African American populations in the country, Detroit is no exception,” Mr. Robinson (D-Detroit) said in a statement. “It is completely unconscionable to ask our families to sacrifice our freedoms for a policy that has the potential to put so many residents at risk. My bill will combat this by preventing law enforcement from using inherently flawed facial recognition software to analyze and identify people. We must reverse the dangerous trend of using technology that intrudes on our privacy and violates our Fourth Amendment rights.”
Recently, the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners tabled a vote on the use of facial recognition technology to monitor neighborhoods but approved its use on traffic-light cameras.
According to the Detroit Free Press, under the traffic-light directive passed last month, Detroit police would not be able to use the footage to enforce traffic misdemeanors, pedestrian laws or to issue civil infractions. They also would not be used for assessing immigration status or engaging in immigration enforcement. Finally, as reported by the Free Press, police would not be able to use audio without a court order.
This story was published by Gongwer News Service.
