Comment by Liberties.EU

Not only does face recognition discriminate against people of colour, but it is also disproportionately targeted at marginalized individuals. In a law enforcement context, facial recognition is predominantly used in communities that are already over-policed. In Italy, for instance, the police’s facial recognition software database contained 2 million images of Italians, compared to 7 million of refugees and migrants. So the way this technology is used is likely to perpetuate the way people from some groups are already disproportionately targeted. [...] Facial recognition might seem attractive for its potential to simplify our lives and enhance public security. But it’s more likely to end up as a major inconvenience that makes it easy to remove our freedoms and choices and reinforce inequality and discrimination. It’s becoming more popular with governments, so the law has to catch up and stop this technology being used at all in most contexts. [...] We at Liberties seek to ban mass surveillance through facial recognition. A few months ago, we joined the ReclaimYourFace movement. If you agree that facial recognition has no place in our public spaces, sign the petition here.