City of Baltimore May Criminalize the Use of Facial Recognition Technologies by Businesses

The Baltimore ordinance has been met with significant opposition by industry experts, particularly as the ordinance would be the first in the U.S. to criminalize private use of biometric technologies. In a joint letter, the Security Industry Association (SIA), the Consumer Technology Associations (CTA) and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and XR Association reject the enactment of the Baltimore ordinance on grounds that it is overly broad and prohibits commercial applications of facial recognition technology that already have widespread public acceptance and provide “beneficial and noncontroversial” services, including for example: increased and customized accessibility for disabled persons, healthcare facilities to verify patient identities while reducing the need for close-proximity interpersonal interactions, banks to enhance consumer security to verify purchases and ATM access, and many more. A similar concern was voiced by Councilmember Issac Schliefer who was one of the two votes opposing the ordinance.