BALTIMORE — Just about everywhere you go, there’s a camera that’s recognizing your face.
New legislation is being proposed to limit the use of facial recognition technology in Baltimore City.
City Council Bill 23-0379, which was introduced in May, outlines regulations for the use of facial recognition technology.
Baltimore’s moratorium on facial recognition expired last year.
Now, the conversation has shifted to how to best regulate the technology many critics say is vulnerable to bias.
The software is touted by some as a layer of security to keep people safe and businesses secure.
However, some on the City Council want to put so-called “guardrails” on the use of facial recognition.
Many testified against its use altogether, but legislation filed by Councilman Kristerfer Burnett would require registration to use it. It’s unclear right now just how prevalent the technology is in Baltimore.
“We don’t fully know the answer to that and that’s what we’re seeking to uncover is how large-scale is this?” Burnett said.
The bill would also require notification at entrances.
“And allow folks to have the decision and autonomy to say, ‘I’m going to support your business. I’m going to come into this business’ or not,'” said Martaze Gaines, from Campaign for Justice, Safety, and Jobs.
Opponents say the software is imperfect, even biased against people of color. The State’s Office of Public Defender tried to prove so Wednesday.
Burnett said the human element creates mistakes and even wrongful arrests.
“We need to make sure there is no overreach and the government is protecting our citizens—all of them,” Burnett said.
Following last month’s double shooting at Bowie State University, school officials listed facial recognition improvements as part of their enhanced safety plan.
Some private businesses, like Madison Square Garden in New York City have used it to deny entry to those involved in lawsuits against them.
“In the name of trying to create a safer society, we actually may be creating more harm through misidentification, through the erosion of civil rights and civil liberties, and misuse and abuse of that data,” Burnett said.
The bills also address procurement, creating a community advisory commission, and create annual reporting guidelines.
What’s included in the proposed bill?
Under the proposed bill, any person in possession of facial recognition data would be required to permanently destroy it within three years of the date it was obtained, or within 30 days of receiving a signed request to destroy the data from the individual, or a legal representative.
The bill also mandates that anyone who collects facial recognition data can not distribute the data without consent, a valid warrant or subpoena – unless the data is being used to prevent fraud. However, collecting facial recognition data would be allowed in situations where a written notice of the collection is posted at the entrance to an area.
Additionally, the bill says that a person who collects facial recognition data must provide the data to the individual in question free of charge at the request of the person, or their attorney.
You can view the full bill here.
Setting limitations on facial recognition technology could become a priority, as city leaders have already expressed concerns about face detection and algorithmic bias.
That concern has increased due to the prevalence of artificial intelligence, because AI products are trained on human data.
Legal Challenges
While the proposed bill sounds like progress for privacy protection, the Baltimore City Council Law Department says the proposed bill conflicts with existing state law.
In a memo, the Baltimore City Council Law Department outlined several legal issues with the proposed bill.
Most notably, the memo says that no local government can establish guidelines for disclosing information that differs from Maryland state law.
The department says the bill conflicts with the Maryland Public Information act (PIA) which dictates when local governments can retain personally identifiable information, when it can be shared, and who it can be shared with.
Another point of conflict, is that the proposed bill would disallow the sale or lease of facial recognition data. According to the law department, such a law could be a violation of the Commerce Clause in the United States Constitution – which states that “Inter-State commerce shall be free and untrammeled.”
