House committee looks into cities’ facial recognition tech
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has sent letters to big-city mayors asking for documentation on their systems.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has sent letters to 10 big-city mayors asking for their policies related to facial recognition technology.
The letters from Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) were prompted by concerns for privacy of innocent citizens, but the members said they were “particularly alarmed by reports that facial recognition technology is less accurate at identifying people of color.”
The mayors of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., were asked for information “relating to the retention and use of photographs collected by or accessible to” local law enforcement agencies, manufacturers, providers or federal agencies. In addition, the mayors were also asked to provide an inventory of their facial recognition technology systems, including information on costs, tech updates and whether federal grants were used to fund any parts of the systems.
The letters suggest the cities were chosen based on information learned at a March 22 hearing on policies governing facial recognition technology, or reports of each city’s experience with the technology. Specific areas of interest are:
- Real-time facial recognition technology.
- Systems that allow searches of databases of driver's licenses ID photos or mugshots .
- Technology that can identify people driving in and out of a city.
- Use of the technology to assist in criminal investigations.
- Public posting of facial recognition policies.
- Contracts with facial recognition software vendors that stipulate strong accuracy requirements.
The committee requested the information from the mayors so that it can “better understand the technology, legal standards, and policies governing the use of this facial recognition technology ... to safeguard American citizens' privacy and civil liberties.”
Cities have been asked to respond by May 31.
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