Report: Black and Brown NYC Communities Disproportionately Exposed to Facial Recognition Surveillance

Amnesty International’s Decode Surveillance NYC Project published a report on face surveillance in New York City revealing that there are more surveillance cameras in Black and Brown communities compatible with facial recognition, a technology that “helps to reinforce discriminatory policing against minority communities in New York City.” Just as minority communities in the city have been disproportionately impacted by “stop-and-frisk” policies, the report finds that Black and Brown communities are facing disproportionately higher rates of facial recognition surveillance—a form of “digital frisking.” This surveillance is particularly concerning for racial justice protesters, as city routes frequented by #BlackLivesMatter protesters were 95% to 100% exposed to facial recognition surveillance. EPIC regularly advocates to ban government use of facial recognition technology. This week, EPIC led a coalition that called on federal and state agencies to halt use of the face verification technology ID.me.