Government agencies around the U.S. have used
the technology for more than a decade to scan
databases for suspects and prevent identity fraud.
The question of to what extent Massachusetts
should embrace facial recognition technology
flared up recently during an unrelated episode at
the Statehouse.
In May, one of several protesters who had
gathered at the building to call attention to
the cost of higher education said he was told by
an unnamed official that the Statehouse uses
facial recognition to match the faces of people
who walk through public entrances with law
enforcement databases.
That prompted House Speaker Robert DeLeo
to release a statement assuring visitors to the
Statehouse that they’re not being subjected
to facial recognition. The Statehouse has been
ramping up security, recently adding additional
security cameras throughout the building.
In a written statement, the Winthrop Democrat
said: “There is no such technology used at the
State House.”
Baker also said the Statehouse wasn’t using
the technology.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, has a long
way to go before reaching Baker’s desk. It has
yet to come up for a public hearing or a vote in
either chamber.
Massachusetts isn’t alone in taking a closer look
at the technology.
San Francisco supervisors last month voted to
ban the use of facial recognition software by
police and other city departments, making the
city the first in the U.S. to outlaw the technology.