San Francisco votes no to facial-recognition tech for cops, govt – while its denizens create it San Francisco has become the first major city in America, if not the world, to effectively ban, for now, facial recognition technology and other forms of state surveillance. In an 8-1 vote on Tuesday, the city's Board of Supervisors passed a new ordinance that requires all local government departments – including the police – …
"The tech industry-backed Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has been arguing against such a ban and pushing back against fears of surveillance for several years with a series of talking points."
That's like arms manufacturers lobbying for more wars to improve stability, "healthcare" insurance companies arguing that medicare for all would harm citizens, short sellers and foreign trade groups announcing that Brexit is a good thing, and Welsh men saying the economy would benefit with more sheep in Wales!
This is perhaps the first example of such an ordinance, and I hope it leads to many more. Those who profess to support such legislation but don't do anything about it because they think it's not going to pass may now see that it can be done and get going on spreading such restrictions. Here's hoping they do so across all cities, countries, and continents.
Seems to be the Bay Area mantra.
Sure, they'll fuck everything up for you, but don't count on seeing any of the bullshit they're inflicting on the rest of the world there because they're too preciously diverse and woke for it. Outside of California its foreign policy, amirite?
The SFO offices of the various Federal TLA's (FBI, NSA etc) will be inreasing the use of Facial recognition in the City of San Francisco due to its new found fame as a home for leaders of Serious and Organised Crime operations. The recent 300% increase in 'Italian' and 'Russian' owned businesses was one factor cited by an unnamed insider.
Just speculation you understand...
Note, the San Francisco county sheriff is an elected position separate from the San Francisco Police, and apparently the new ordinance allows the sheriff to use the tech if they feel they need to. There are also California state law enforcement agencies. If you are going to speculate, there is plenty of opportunity for mischief before any feds get involved.
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Until they have to do the standard press release because they forked up:
Our Customers, who art worldwide,
We take the protection of your personal data very seriously,
and we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of all the data entrusted to us,
For ever and ever,
Amen
(Credit to Alister)
"do you allow such technologies to be introduced and then consider where to scale them back based on experience, or do you ban them and only allow their introduction after lengthy discussion? "
In practice once the police / security services etc have gotten their hands on such technology they will fight tooth and nail, and lie to, bully and blackmail whoever is required to make sure it is never ever scaled back. So kudos to San Francisco, that is the way to go. (Actually, I would add one more step, which is that any eventual 'permission' is granted only for a limited time and can only be renewed based on a study of the results)
"Actually, I would add one more step, which is that any eventual 'permission' is granted only for a limited time and can only be renewed based on a study of the results"
I'd go a step further than that and require review of what was in place before the ban.
I'd expect a number of "research organizations" will spring up to study surveillance tech. They'll need a lot of test data so will contract with local businesses (and public libraries, etc.) to share the data collected from devices "on loan". The Authorities will see an uptick in useful "anonymous tips", and the whole thing will be funded either by skimming a bit off the "Widows and Orphans Fund", or under some obscure title in the 500 page "Unicorn Preservation, Rainbow Appreciation, and Omnibus Funding Bill", passed at 4AM in an extraordinary session, after being introduced at 2AM.
Shortly thereafter, a number of people who look a bit too much like stock photos of terrorists may mysteriously disappear.
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