California's state senate has passed a bill imposing a three-year moratorium on facial recognition technology in police body cameras. The bill, which requires state assembly approval and the governor's signature to become law, prohibits the use of real-time facial recognition algorithms and subsequent forensic analysis of footage, though technology which redacts faces is exempt. California law enforcement agencies are required by statute to obtain warrants before using such technology, but it remains legal for them to do so without them. Massachusetts is also mulling a state-wide moratorium, while San Francisco and Oakland have banned government use of facial recognition.
California's state senate has passed a bill imposing a three-year moratorium on facial recognition technology in police body cameras. The bill, which requires state assembly approval and the governor's signature to become law, prohibits the use of real-time facial recognition algorithms and subsequent forensic analysis of footage, though technology which redacts faces is exempt. Critics said firms could spend three years improving their algorithms. Massachusetts is also mulling a state-wide moratorium, while San Francisco and Oakland have banned government use of facial recognition.