Portland City Council members voted unanimously on Wednesday to prohibit the public – and, in some cases, private – use of facial recognition technology, making it the most stringent ban of this kind nationwide, according to multiple reports.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty introduced the bans, which immediately took effect for city agencies, and will be effective on Jan. 1 for private businesses, The Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
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The ordinances bar the use of facial recognition technology by city agencies and on public property within the city, but also prohibit its use "by private entities in places of public accommodation,” according to city agency Smart City PDX.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, left; City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, right (Getty Images)
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Facial recognition technology violates the public’s personal privacy and has “a demonstrated gender and racial bias,” Wheeler said, according to OPB.com.
“Technology exists to make our lives easier, not for public and private entities to use as a weapon against the very citizens they serve and accommodate,” the Democratic mayor reportedly said.