Clearview AI Use Exposed, OK State-wide Driver Surveillance, And VA FRT Ban Analysis
Whose Streets? Our Streets! (Tech Edition) Issue 21
T👁️p 3 St👁️ries 👁️f the Week
Watching the Watchers: Surveillance Nation:
A BuzzFeed News investigation has found that employees at law enforcement agencies across the US ran thousands of Clearview AI facial recognition searches — often without the knowledge of the public or even their own departments.
“A controversial facial recognition tool designed for policing has been quietly deployed across the country with little to no public oversight. According to reporting and data reviewed by BuzzFeed News, more than 7,000 individuals from nearly 2,000 public agencies nationwide have used Clearview AI to search through millions of Americans’ faces, looking for people, including Black Lives Matter protesters, Capitol insurrectionists, petty criminals, and their own friends and family members. BuzzFeed News has developed a searchable table of 1,803 publicly funded agencies whose employees are listed in the data as having used or tested the controversial policing tool before February 2020. These include local and state police, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Air Force, state healthcare organizations, offices of state attorneys general, and even public schools. In many cases, leaders at these agencies were unaware that employees were using the tool; five said they would pause or ban its use in response to questions about it.” [Buzzfeed News, see also a plethora of downstream reporting on the use of this tool in East Bay where FRT is banned, Idaho, Minnesota, New York City, and North Carolina and how it might limit European policy collaboration]
City: Oklahoma Quietly Launched a Mass Surveillance Program to Track Uninsured Drivers
“Some municipalities, including in Louisiana, Nevada, and Florida have been tracking uninsured motorists with ALPRs, but Oklahoma is the first to implement a statewide system. It will likely not be the last: During an earnings call with investors, Berman said that roughly a half dozen other state governments were very receptive to their platform, acknowledging that pandemic-related budget woes likely aided the company’s prospects. Oklahoma’s rollout of ALPRs to track and bill uninsured motorists is another example of mission creep and expansion in the use of roadway surveillance systems.” [OneZero]
Policy: Virginia to Ban Local Police from Using Facial Recognition
“A bill passed in Virginia will ban local law-enforcement agencies from using facial recognition technology without prior legislative approval starting July 1, 2021. The bill further requires any local police agency eventually authorized to have exclusive control over the facial recognition system, preventing the use of Clearview AI and other commercial FR products. However, Virginia State Police and other state law enforcement agencies may continue to use facial recognition.” [EPIC, see also Daily Press, Government Technology, and The Progress Index]
City Watch
Baltimore, MD, U.S. - Baltimore Mayor Names Two Key Tech, Equity Roles [Government Technology]
China - Tides of change: Shenzhen powers China’s smart city drive [CGTN]
Hong Kong - A Hong Kong journalist is on trial for using a public database [Rest of World]
Jharkhand, India - Facial authentication for COVID vaccine a proof of concept won’t be mandatory: RS Sharma [Entrackr]
Lancaster CA, U.S. (Update) - City investing in fiber-optic network [AV Press]
Louisville KY, U.S. - It’s time to ‘redefine what infrastructure is,’ says USCM president [Smart Cities Dive]
Moscow, Russia - Moscow clashes over facial recognition in shops [DW]
Philadelphia PA, U.S. - What’s New in Civic Tech: Knight Invests $2.2M in Philadelphia [Government Technology]
San Francisco CA, U.S. - SFO and United to trial facial recognition technology for domestic flight [Future Travel Experience]
Shimla, India (Update) - 60 CCTV cameras to check traffic violations in Shimla [The Tribune]
United Arab Emirates - UAE launches facial ID to get government services [Saudi Gazette]
Various Global Cities - Crimes against women spur more surveillance in South Asia [Japan Times]
Various Global Cities - Positive Tech Solutions Will Force The Recovery: Global Technology Governance Summit Concludes [World Economic Forum]
Various U.S. Cities - Policymakers Should Make Room for Sidewalk Delivery Robots [Government Technology]
Various U.S. Cities - U.S. Army Seeks Facial Recognition Technology for Bases [National Interest]
Washington, DC, U.S. - Lime introduces its first e-moped fleet in Washington, DC [Smart Cities Dive]
Market Watch
Legal
Biometrics: (Update) After Shave, Uber Driver Says Firm Blocked Him For Selfie Mismatch [Tennessee Tribune]
Other: Q Link Wireless made private customer information accessible with just a phone number [The Verge]
Patents/New Tech
Biometrics:
Defending against Facial Recognition Attacks [The Future of Things]
Fujitsu Develops Technology to Block Facial Authentication Fraud [AiThority]
IDEMIA’s Facial Recognition Ranked #1 in NIST’s Latest FRVT Test [Social News]
[MITRE] Created Tech That Guesses your Name By Simply Looking At Your Face [Forbes]
NEC Trials ‘Face Express’ Boarding System at Two Airports in Japan [Find Biometrics]
Video:
Other:
The Promises and Perils of 6G Technology [JD Supra]
WIMI Hologram Cloud with Holographic AR Technology Extends the AR-HUD Tech in New Energy Electric Vehicles Field’ [Global Newswire]
Personnel
Video: ‘Bro Culture’ at Camera Maker Verkada Pushed Profits, Parties [Bloomberg]
Purchasing Trends
Biometrics:
Mobility: Micromobility Is Making a Comeback After an Uncertain Year [Government Technology]
Video: Video Tech for Smart City Success: Three IP video-based innovations that can help integrators land new business in this fast-growing vertical market [Security Info Watch]
Other: 5G and IoT: Emerging Technologies With Endless Use Cases [Appinventiv]
Policy Watch
China - China’s first lawsuit on facial recognition made verdict [CGTN]
China - China gets serious about antitrust, fines Alibaba $2.75B [TechCrunch]
Europe - Privacy advocates sign open letter calling for ban on facial recognition [ProPrivacy]
Florida, U.S. - EPIC, Coalition Urge Florida Lawmakers to Preserve Private Right of Action [EPIC]
India - Facial Recognition for COVID Vaccination: What About Data Privacy? [The Quint]
Iowa, U.S. - EFF Challenges Surreptitious Collection of DNA at Iowa Supreme Court [EFF]
New York, NY, U.S. - Legal Aid Society calls NYPD use of facial recognition technology ‘unreliable’ [News12]
Oregon, U.S. - Oregon Lawmakers to Introduce Privacy and Data Security Bill [Government Technology]
U.S. Federal - The White House wants to spend $100 million to monitor the air we breathe [The Verge]
Various Global Cities - 7 views on how technology will shape geopolitics [World Economic Forum]
Various Global Cities - Accessible city planning starts with unbiased data insight [Smart Cities Dive]
Various Global Cities - Do we need a Paris Agreement for tech? Here’s what world leaders and tech chiefs say [World Economic Forum]
Various Global Cities - With Biometrics, Technology’s Doubled-Edged Nature Is On Full Display [Above The Law]
Vermont, U.S. - Facial recognition technology is needed to help with backlog of abuse cases, panel told [VT Digger]
Watching the Watchers Watch
Various Global Cities - Play the fake smile game from the University of Cambridge and UCL and expose flaws in AI-powered emotion [Cambridge Independent and The Verge]
Various U.S. Cities - How the criminal justice system deploys mass surveillance on innocent people [VICE via JTDL]
Bonus Section…Paper to Watch, um, Read
Paper 📝: CCTV surveillance for crime prevention: A 40‐year systematic review with meta‐analysis By Eric L. Piza, Brandon C. Welsh, David P. Farrington, Amanda L. Thomas [Criminology & Public Policy Volume 18, Issue1]
Whose Streets? Our Streets! (Tech Edition) documents trends in the surveillance of public space. Curated by Rebecca Williams and Madeleine Smith as part of smart city surveillance research for the Technology and Public Purpose Project at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.