FRT Mis-ID Lawsuit, MN Transit Privacy Principles, And Orgs Call to Ban Corp FRT Use
Whose Streets? Our Streets! (Tech Edition) Issue 22
T👁️p 3 St👁️ries 👁️f the Week
City: Wrongfully arrested man sues Detroit police over false facial recognition match:
The case could fuel criticism of police investigators’ use of a controversial technology that has been shown to perform worse on people of color
“A Michigan man has sued Detroit police after he was wrongfully arrested and falsely identified as a shoplifting suspect by the department’s facial recognition software in one of the first lawsuits of its kind to call into question the controversial technology’s risk of throwing innocent people in jail…
The case could heighten the legal challenges for a technology that is largely unregulated in the country, even as it has become a prolific investigative tool used by police forces and federal investigators. While the software has been banned by more than a dozen cities nationwide, it has been cited in a growing number of criminal cases, including in the landmark investigation of rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6” [Washington Post, see also Cities Today, Detroit News, IFL Science, Trumbull Times, and The Verge]
City: Minnesota Crafts Privacy Principles for Emerging Transit Tech:
Minnesota’s Connected and Automated Vehicle Alliance is developing a privacy and security framework to help guide current and future smart transportation infrastructure and vehicle projects
“To resolve connected and automated transit’s tension between utility and risk, MnDOT has been working to get ahead of growing trends and act now to establish privacy and data security policies that can guide public-sector approaches to the technology at present and in the long term. The Governor’s Council on Connected and Automated Vehicles recently released an annual report highlighting its latest efforts, including drawing together members of academic, business, government, and nonprofit sectors last year to create the CAV Innovation Alliance charged with researching and developing best practices for emerging technologies. No one set of rules will be able to cover the nuances of all situations, so the committees have focused on developing flexible frameworks that can be used to guide thinking and offer advice on a wide variety of possible use cases.” [Government Technology]
Policy: Civil rights organizations call for ban on corporate use of facial recognition
“A coalition of civil and human rights organizations on Wednesday called for officials on all levels of government to take action toward banning the private and corporate use of facial recognition technology.
More than 20 organizations signed the open letter urging a ban similar to one that went into effect in Portland, Ore., at the start of this year. The Portland ordinance bans private entities from using facial recognition technology in places of public accommodation.
‘We believe this ordinance should be used as a template for more city, state, and federal legislation that bans private and corporate use of facial recognition surveillance,’ the organizations wrote.” [The Hill see also EPIC, Nextgov, see also Pressure mounts on DHS to stop using Clearview AI facial recognition fromThe Hill]
City Watch
Chicago, IL, U.S. - Chicago Awaits Video Of Police Killing Of 13-Year-Old Boy: After the police killing of Adam Toledo in Chicago, the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system deserves serious scrutiny [The Intercept]
Eilat, Israel (Update) - The City of Eilat Drives Israel’s Smart City Initiative with the Deployment of Advanced Behavioral Analytics [Security Today]
India - India: Vaccine exclusion fears over digital ID, face recognition [Al Jazeera, see also Reuters]
Johannesburg, South Africa - Why Johannesburg’s anti-crime cameras are similar to apartheid-era pass laws [News24]
New York, NY, U.S. - New York City announces winners of e-scooter pilot [Smart Cities Dive, see also The Verge]
New Zealand - Police Engages Experts To Better Understand Facial Recognition Technology [Scoop]
Russia - Russia’s surveillance state still doesn’t match China. But Putin is racing to catch up. [Washington Post]
Various Global Cities - Many Thought COVID Would Derail Smart Cities - It Didn’t [Government Technology]
Various U.S. Cities - COVID-19 May Fade, But Will the Tracking Tools Built to Fight It? [ACLU]
Various U.S. Cities - Managing the Urban Curb Will Require Good Data, Innovation [Government Technology]
Various U.S. Cities (Update) - States Are Rolling Out Massive ALPR Networks To Take Down Dangerous… Uninsured Drivers [TechDirt]
Virginia, U.S. - Virginia launches statewide IoT cybersecurity contest [Smart Cities Dive]
West Africa - Satellites and AI have just accurately counted 1.8b trees in West Africa [World Economic Forum]
Market Watch
Acquisitions & Financing
Other: Big landlords invest $60M in “tenant experience” startup HqO [Venture Pulse]
Legal
Other: 100 Million More IoT Devices Are Exposed and They Won’t Be the Last [WIRED]
Patents/New Tech
Other:
How CO2 sensors might help us return to ‘normal’ [The Verge]
Smart City Digital Twins Are a New, High-Tech Tool for Scenario Planning [APA Planning]
Video: Review: DJI Air 2S [WIRED]
Public-Private Partnerships
Mobility: Uber is licensing its ride-hailing software to three more public transit agencies [The Verge]
Purchasing Trends
Biometrics: Royal Caribbean uses wearables for contact tracing; sees facial recognition as best long-term solution [Security Magazine]
Other: Smart Cities Connect Opens With Calls for Digital Equity [Government Technology]
Policy Watch
China - Chinese court upholds face biometric data collection complaint verdict [Biometric Update]
Boston, MA, U.S. - State panel studies use of facial recognition technology [The Eagle-Tribune]
India - How Facial Recognition Technology By the Police Perpetuates Patriarchal Norms [FII]
U.S. Federal - ACLU suit seeks the release of Clearview AI face biometrics data by ICE and CBP [Biometric Update, see also Law 360]
Various EU Cities - EU urged to ban ‘discriminatory’ AI tools that detect gender or sexuality [Reuters]
Various EU Cities - The EU is considering a ban on AI for mass surveillance and social credit scores [The Verge]
Various Global Cities - The Dark Side of Smart Cities [BBN Times]
Various Global Cities - Forced Arbitration Thwarts Legal Challenge to AT&T’s Disclosure of Customer Location Data [EFF]
Various Global Cities - ‘Smart’ Cities Are Surveilled Cities: When everyone and everything is connected, the door is open to all kinds of digital threats. [Foreign Policy]
Various U.S. Cities - Can Dig-Once Policies Hasten the Close of the Digital Divide [Government Technology]
Various U.S. Cities - Can Tech Make the Roads Safer? We know the dangers of surveillance, but people are dying. Maybe we need more cameras on the roads. [NY Times]
Various U.S. Cities - Data Brokers Are a Threat to Democracy [WIRED]
Washington, U.S. - Court Dismisses Some Remaining Claims in Microsoft Facial Recognition Suit [Law Street Media]
Washington, U.S. - Washington States Votes To Kill Law That Restricted Community Broadband [TechDirt]
Watching the Watchers Watch
New York, NY, U.S. - #BanTheScan Rally took place on April 17th [@STOPSpyingNY]
New York, NY, U.S. - Help us tag CCTV cameras that enable facial recognition to work across NYC! [@AmnestyTech]
Various U.S. Cities - 21st Century Policing: The Rise and Reach of Surveillance Technology (Report) [Action Center on Race & the Economy]
Various U.S. Cities - Big Tech Is Publishing States to Pass Privacy Laws, and Yes, You Should Be Suspicious [The Markup]
Bonus Section…A Border to Watch, um, Conceptualize
Survey to Surveillance: The U.S.-Mexico border is not a line on the ground, but a network diagram drawn through bodies and databases [Places Journal]
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.