Blog

The creeping authoritarianism of facial recognition

In an effort to lower crime rates, American law enforcement is pushing to combine facial recognition with expanded video surveillance. Politicians worried about their re-election chances due to a perceived crime wave see the expansion as necessary. It’s a sharp swing from 2019 and 2020, when cities like San Francisco and New Orleans were banning or at least enacting limits on facial recognition technology due to privacy concerns.

Now, New Orleans plans to roll back its facial recognition prohibition. The Virginia State Senate gave law enforcement a late Valentine’s Day gift by passing a facial recognition expansion bill on February 15 — the Democrats who unanimously approved a ban on facial recognition last year suddenly changed their minds, as did five Republicans. New York City wants to expand its facial recognition program to fight gun violence.

Law enforcement has a long history of pining for any tool that might give it some sort of edge, citizen due process be damned. Supporters avow that the technology will help investigators find violent crime suspects, including those involved in the January 6 storming of the US Capitol. OneZero reported in 2020 that Wolfcom promoted its real-time face tracking software as perfect for police organizations looking to quickly identify suspects with outstanding warrants.

Keep reading

Saying You’re ‘Colorblind’ About Race Is Now Considered Racist By The Federal Government

A race-based training program used by federal agencies claims, among other things, that saying one is “colorblind” to race is itself racist.

The training is part of a newly revealed federal diversity program that greatly expands on previously critical race theory trainings within the federal government, the Washington Examiner reported. Part of the expansion comes in the form of opposing “microaggressions,” or words and actions by one person that unintentionally upset another. As the Examiner noted, training provided to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that offering a black student a basketball is considered offensive.

“Not only are federal workers urged to consider what they say, but also how their comments are received. In one chart, a white male is shown saying he is ‘colorblind.’ The black woman shown beside, however, takes as an insult that the white is denying her ‘racial/cultural being,’” the Examiner reported. “And, it advised men, don’t interrupt a woman speaking because they hear, ‘Women’s ideas are not valued.’”

Keep reading