Survey: Few Americans Want Government to Limit Use of Facial Recognition Technology, Particularly for Public Safety or Airport Screening

Only one in four Americans (26 percent) think government should strictly limit the use of facial recognition technology, according to a new survey from the Center for Data Innovation--and that support drops even further if it would come at the expense of public safety. Fewer than one in five Americans (18 percent) would agree with strictly limiting the technology if that is the tradeoff, while a solid majority (55 percent) would disagree. Similarly, only 20 percent of Americans say government should strictly limit use of facial recognition if it would mean airports can't use the technology to speed up security lines, while a 54 percent majority would disagree with such a limit. And just 24 percent want strict limits if it would prevent stores from using the technology to stop shoplifting, while 49 percent would oppose such a tradeoff. There were some differences in these opinions based on age, with older Americans more likely to oppose government limits on the technology.