Oakland city to ban facial recognition technology
The city council of Oakland, USA voted in favour of an ordinance banning the use of facial recognition technology by municipal agencies (including the city police). Arguments in favour of the ban included limitations of the technology (which could lead to decisions based on inaccurate information) and the lack of implementation standards. The ban will apply to both the use and acquisition of facial recognition technology. The ordinance will be put to vote again in September, for its second reading in the council, but this is expected to be only a formality. Oakland becomes the third US city banning facial recognition technology, after San Francisco and Somerville.
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