'Face Recognition Risks Chilling Our Ability to Participate in Free Speech'

Janine Jackson interviewed the Center on Privacy and Technology's Clare Garvie about facial recognition rules for the June 26, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. Janine Jackson: Robert Williams, an African-American man in Detroit, was falsely arrested when an algorithm declared his face a match with security footage of a watch store robbery. Boston City Council voted this week to ban the city's use of facial recognition technology, part of an effort to move resources from law enforcement to community, but also out of concern about dangerous mistakes like that in Williams' case, along with questions about what the technology means for privacy and free speech. As more and more people go out in the streets and protest, what should we know about this powerful tool, and the rules--or lack thereof--governing its use?