John,
During a time of uncertainty and fear, the last thing our government should do is partner up with the sketchiest facial recognition company there is.
So news that federal and state agencies are in talks with Clearview AI about how to use its app to track the Coronavirus is unsettling, to say the least.1
This is a clear example of an unscrupulous company trying to exploit this public health crisis to sell dangerous, invasive, and ineffective surveillance software, and of power hungry government agencies using this moment to expand their surveillance toolkit. We can’t let this happen.
Sign the petition: don’t use facial recognition to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
TAKE ACTION
Clearview’s scheme makes basically no sense. The CEO says the app could be used to improve traditional forms of contact tracing to limit the spread of the virus. But using facial recognition for contact tracing after someone tests positive for COVID-19 would likely be ineffective, given the software’s propensity for misidentification, especially when analyzing the faces of people of color (who have been among the hardest hit by the virus).
It would also be incredibly invasive.
Without any built in safeguards to prevent abuse, law enforcement and other government agencies would likely have access to both someone’s health information and their real-time location.
While there may be ways that technology can be used to enhance traditional forms of contact tracing while protecting people’s basic human rights, this clearly isn’t one of them. Any local, state, or federal agency that buys into this nonsense is putting the public at risk.
Tell your lawmakers to oppose any efforts to expand facial recognition during this public health crisis (and for that matter, even after it's over).
Together,
Caitlin at Fight for the Future
Footnotes:
1. NBC News Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBCNewsNow/status/1254924882934185984
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
