Bellingham, WA Bans Government Use of Facial Recognition, Predictive Policing Tech

A ballot initiative passed in Bellingham, Washington bans city officials, including police officers, from obtaining or using facial recognition technology, or any information derived from facial recognition. The bill also bans contracting for third party facial recognition services and the use of predictive policing technologies. The ballot initiative passed by a 10-point margin despite opposition from the Bellingham City Council. EPIC recently sought records on the US Postal Service’s Internet Covert Operations Program use of Clearview AI facial recognition and other surveillance software. EPIC leads a campaign to Ban Face Surveillance and through the Public Voice Coalition has gathered support from over 100 organizations and experts from more than 30 countries.