Don't Ban Facial ID, ITIF's Castro Says; House Oversight Members Note Bill to Come
Don't ban facial recognition technology due to privacy concerns (see 2001140063), said one witness for Wednesday's House Oversight Committee hearing. Industry "has taken many steps to ensure the safe and responsible deployment," testified Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Vice President…
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Daniel Castro. "Congress should focus on steps to improve oversight and accountability of commercial use of facial recognition technology." Castro said "even narrow bans can have unintended consequences, given the widespread integration of facial recognition technology." Committee staff noted such tech is "increasingly in home security systems, social media sites, shopping malls, and elsewhere for advertising, security, access, photo and video data identification, and accessibility." Committee members of both parties hope to have a bipartisan bill. Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., expects one to be introduced and marked up “in the very near future.” Facial identification tech is "just not ready for prime time," said Maloney. “Despite these concerns, we see facial recognition technology being used more and more.” It's "completely unregulated at the federal level,” she noted. Ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, appreciates "your willingness to work with us on this legislation," he told Maloney at the start of his opening remarks (see 21-minute mark). “All sides are trying to work together." It's a “powerful technology,” with a market of some $9 billion expected by 2022: “We understand and appreciate the great promise that this technology holds.” For him, "the urgent issue” to “tackle ... is reining in the government's unchecked use of this technology when it impairs our freedoms and our liberties.” He cited the First and Fourth amendments. “This issue transcends politics,” Jordan said. He fears a “patchwork of laws” arising from localities. Studies find "significant variance" between facial recognition algorithms, said National Institute of Standards and Technology Information Technology Laboratory Director Charles Romine. "Some produce significantly fewer errors than others." Don't "think of facial recognition as either always accurate or always error prone," he said. The staff memo said the committee held two 2019 hearings on the subject.