John,

BREAKING: Members of the Senate and House just re-introduced a bill that would effectively ban federal government and law enforcement from using facial recognition.¹

It is more critical than ever that Congress pass this law. We’ve seen case after case of facial recognition being used in ways that augment racist policing and infringe on human rights, and we cannot allow this to continue.

Take action now: Send a message to your members of Congress and tell them to support the federal facial recognition ban!

TAKE ACTION

The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2021, sponsored by Senators Markey, Merkley, Sanders, Warren, and Wyden, along with Representatives Jayapal, Pressley, and Tlaib, would put an end to the government’s use of this uniquely dangerous surveillance technology.

In just the past year police have used facial recognition to identify people protesting the murder of George Floyd, and there have been multiple cases of Black men being misidentified by facial recognition and arrested for crimes they didn’t commit.^2,3,4,5,6,7

This technology is inherently oppressive and cannot be reformed or regulated—it must be abolished. Your legislators need to hear from you now: tell them you demand they support this legislation.

So far, more than a dozen cities, counties, and states have passed legislation to protect their communities from this technology. This bill would protect everyone across the country. The momentum from these local bans and the grassroots movement against facial recognition made the re-introduction of this federal bill happen. But in order to pass it we need to ramp up pressure.

Take a minute to send a message to your Congressional representatives and tell them to support the federal ban on facial recognition.

Together, and against facial recognition,

Caitlin at Fight for the Future

Footnotes:

1. Senator Markey: https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-merkley-lead-colleagues-on-legislation-to-ban-government-use-of-facial-recognition-other-biometric-technology

2. Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/facial-recognition-protests-lafayette-square/2020/11/02/64b03286-ec86-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html

3. The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/18/21373316/nypd-facial-recognition-black-lives-matter-activist-derrick-ingram

4. Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/cops-in-miami-nyc-arrest-protesters-from-facial-recognition-matches/

5. New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/technology/facial-recognition-misidentify-jail.html

6. Detroit Free Press: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/07/10/facial-recognition-detroit-michael-oliver-robert-williams/5392166002/

7. New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/technology/facial-recognition-arrest.html

Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.