Face recognition is an inherently authoritarian technology that makes all of us less safe and less free. AB 2261 is opposed by the ACLU of California and a wide coalition of civil rights organizations because it would lead to an expansion of unchecked face surveillance and civil liberties violations throughout California.
AB 2261 would allow companies to use face scans to deny people jobs, financial services, health care, and even basic necessities. It would provide workers with no recourse if their employers use face recognition to scan, identify, or track them in the workplace. Troublingly, it would also permit companies to sell face recognition technology to law enforcement even when they know their tech to be flawed and racially biased.
While AB 2261 purports to protect privacy, it does the opposite. The bill invites tech companies and law enforcement to self-regulate their use of face recognition, and places no meaningful restrictions on their ability to deploy this invasive technology against the people of California.
Bill Developments
June 3, 2020: Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
February 14, 2020: Bill introduced
