Advocacy Group Sues San Francisco Over Allegedly Illegal Use of Facial Recognition

San Francisco’s city, county, and police departments are being sued by the non-profit Secure Justice for allegedly using facial recognition technology (FRT) despite its ban.

The lawsuit claims FRT has significant difficulties in accurately identifying individuals with darker skin tones and individuals who are female, with error rates as high as 35 percent for darker-skinned women according to a 2018 study. Secure Justice’s Executive Director, Brian Hoffer, noted instances of wrongful arrests and incarceration primarily affecting Black individuals stemming from the technology.

In June 2019, San Francisco enacted the Surveillance Technology Ordinance, banning FRT and setting a precedent followed by cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda. By July 2020, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) had identified 42 preexisting surveillance technologies and received policy approval for ShotSpotter and Automated License Plate Readers the following year. However, Secure Justice claims it obtained documents in June 2021 showing SFPD violated the FRT ban by outsourcing its use to third parties.

SFPD ceased complying with the Surveillance Ordinance after July 2021, failing to submit further proposed use policies for its existing technologies to the Board of Supervisors (BOS). Despite directives from SF City Attorney David Chiu in March this year to submit policies within a year of acquiring or using the technology, SFPD has not responded.

Secure Justice issued a second notice in May 2023, referencing the 42 technologies. The non-profit requests that SFPD submit the required impact statements and proposed use policies or permanently cease using these technologies, and also seeks attorney fees and court costs.

Meanwhile, city authorities have been moving to make allowances for the use of FRT. Toward the end of last year, Mayor London Breed announced a public safety measure that would ease certain regulations for the city’s police department, including a proposed rule that would let police acquire new surveillance technologies without the need to get permission from supervisors. “Proposition E” was approved by about 63 percent of voters earlier this year.

Source: KRON4

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July 18, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy