San Francisco Bans City Use of Facial-Recognition Tech Tools
The short version: Bloomberg's 2019 report on San Francisco's first-in-the-nation facial recognition ban shows local bans work, but reminds us ALPR networks like Flock often slip through the same loopholes.
Our Take
Bloomberg News's look back at San Francisco's 2019 vote to ban city use of facial recognition is a useful reminder that municipal bans on invasive tech aren't just possible, they've already happened. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors decided that some surveillance tools are too dangerous for city agencies to wield, full stop, and other cities followed. That's the kind of political will we want to see applied to automated license plate readers.
Here's the catch: a facial recognition ban doesn't touch a Flock camera. ALPR systems track where your car goes, when, and how often, building a movement history on every driver who passes a mounted lens, without ever needing to scan a face. Cities can pat themselves on the back for banning one surveillance technology while quietly signing contracts for another that raises nearly identical privacy questions. San Francisco's own ALPR use shows how these fights are never really 'won' once and need constant scrutiny.
If your city hasn't had this conversation about license plate readers yet, that's the gap to close. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your streets, and use our take-action resources to push your local council toward the kind of scrutiny San Francisco once applied to face recognition.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Bloomberg News, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.