San Francisco made history by becoming the first major city to ban law enforcement from using facial recognition technology. It is understandable that people want to set limits on police surveillance and address racial bias in policing, but as Daniel Castro writes for RealClearPolicy, a blanket ban on facial recognition technology does nothing to address those underlying issues and only makes it more difficult for police to investigate crimes and improve public safety. Instead of bans, policymakers should focus on a balanced approach that would allow law enforcement to use facial recognition technology to make communities safer while also providing additional oversight, testing, and guidance to protect the rights of all Americans.
