Facial Recognition technology is racist.

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

Protect our basic human rights. Tell lawmakers to ban facial
recognition.

[ [link removed] ]Take Action

Dear John.

Facial recognition technology uses algorithms to replicate the racial bias
in policing that has had life-threatening consequences for Black people
and our communities. This invasive technology is racist and inaccurate,
misidentifies women and people of color, and reinforces a system of
oppression that surveils and targets Black people on baseless grounds,
while also demonizing our physical appearance.^1 Widespread use of this
technology by law enforcement will lead to even more police encounters,
wrongful arrests, harassment, and deportation. With error rates as high as
98%, facial recognition is one of the most dangerous forms of surveillance
for our communities, and we must tell lawmakers to ban this technology.^2

[ [link removed] ]Tell your members of Congress to ban facial recognition. 

Facial recognition technology, at its core, is a flawed form of
surveillance that comes at the expense of basic civil rights, security,
and privacy. It has been scientifically proven that this form of
surveillance is inaccurate and miscategorizes the faces of women and Black
people.^3 In a test recently conducted by the American Civil Liberties
Union, the facial recognition technology Rekognition, used by Amazon on
the general public, incorrectly matched the photos of 28 members of
Congress with mug shots of individuals with previous arrests. Alarmingly,
these false matches also disproportionately identified six members of the
Congressional Black Caucus.^4 With police violence against Black people at
an all-time high, allowing lawmakers to implement facial recognition
programs will result in increased and potentially violent interactions
with the police. 

[ [link removed] ]Protect our civil rights and tell your lawmakers to ban facial
recognition. 

Currently, there are no legal safeguards for this technology.^5,6 It is
being abused in the New York City police department, with the images of
children and teenagers uploaded into a database despite evidence that
facial recognition technology has a higher risk of being inaccurate on
children. The technology even lacks the ability to account for changes in
facial structure.^7 In the face of a lack of legislative oversight for
this technology the city of Detroit, a predominantly Black city, is also
battling with the harms of facial recognition technology and refuses to
share how many arrests have been made due to the technology. With no
oversight of facial recognition technology, Black people run the risk of
having their images saved and ran through these databases, or they could
even be arrested and prosecuted due to the inaccuracy of this technology. 

Color Of Change has fought for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to
adopt the Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance, banning San Francisco
agencies from acquiring or using facial recognition technologies. We are
expanding our efforts to hold elected officials accountable for racially
biased technologies by partnering with over 30 organizations to ensure
this evasive technology does not further oppress and harm our
communities. 

[ [link removed] ]Take action and tell your lawmakers to ban facial recognition
technology. 

From COINTELPRO to the FBI's use of the baseless “Black identity
extremist” term, Black people are continuously being targeted through laws
and legislation. Facial recognition technology is unjust and dangerous,
and circumvents the law. We must take a stand to protect our civil rights
and prevent unnecessary interactions with the police that can be traumatic
or have deadly consequences. [ [link removed] ]Tell your lawmakers to ban facial
recognition technology.

Until justice is real,

--Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Johnny, Future, Eesha, Samantha, Marcus,
FolaSade, Jamila and the rest of the Color Of Change team

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

References:

 1. “Facial Recognition Software Prompts Privacy, Racism Concerns in
Cities and States,” Pew Charitable Trusts, August 9, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 2. “Facial-Recognition Software Inaccurate in 98% of Cases, Report
Finds,” CNET, May 13, 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 3. “Facial Recognition Is Accurate, if You’re a White Guy,” New York
Times, February 9, 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 4. “Amazon’s Face Recognition Falsely Matched 28 Members of Congress With
Mugshots,” ACLU, July 26, 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 5. “Facial Recognition Surveillance Faces New Calls for Legal Limits,”
Axion, March 13, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 6. “Facial Recognition Technology, Face ID and the Constitution,” Law
Shelf Educational Media,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 7. “She Was Arrested at 14. Then Her Photo Went to a Facial Recognition
Database,” New York Times, August 1, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.

<style type="text/css">

blockquote .original-only,
.WordSection1 .original-only
{
display: none !important;
}

</style>

<div class=".original-only">

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
</div>