SENATORS PROPOSE LIMITS ON POLICE USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION.

• Author: Shackford, Scott

A BIPARTISAN PAIR of lawmakers wants to limit the use of facial recognition technology by federal law enforcement. In November, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) introduced the Facial Recognition Technology Warrant Act. The bill would require federal officials to seek a warrant in order to use facial recognition technology to track a specific person's public movements for more than 72 hours.

The legislation does not prohibit the use of facial recognition technology to identify people. Indeed, it allows authorities to use facial recognition to identify people without a warrant so long as "no subsequent attempt is made to track that individual's movement in real-time or through the use of historical records after the individual has been identified." In other words, the bill requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant only for long-term surveillance of a specific person.

Fred Humphries, corporate vice president of U.S. government affairs at Microsoft (which makes and sells facial recognition software), joined Coons and Lee in a joint statement in which the three claim that the bill strikes the right balance: "American citizens deserve protection from facial recognition abuse. This bill accomplishes that by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before conducting ongoing surveillance of a target."

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) also supports the legislation, which it sees as more balanced than a full ban on government use of facial recognition tools. "We're standing behind this bill," AFP senior policy analyst Billy Easley said in a statement, "because we believe in the appropriate application of facial recognition technology and ensuring it is used for good rather...