Worcester Facial Recognition Tech Ban: Council Takes First Step

Worcester MA

01 December, 2021

10:23 AM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester City Council has taken a step toward banning facial recognition technology, but decisions about the wider purchase of surveillance tools will be mostly out of the Council's hands. On Tuesday night, the Council voted unanimously to alert the public about a new ordinance that would prevent Worcester from "obtaining, retaining, requesting, accessing or using any facial surveillance system or any information obtained from a facial surveillance system." However, the city manager will have the ultimate power to approve or disapprove the acquisition of surveillance tools, including facial recognition technology. City Solicitor Michael Traynor told the Councilors on Tuesday they do not have the power to direct the activities of city departments, including what tools those departments buy. City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. has issued a broader executive order governing how Worcester acquires surveillance tools. The first step is for a city department to ask the city manager for permission, followed later by a public information session with the City Council. City departments would also have to create a policy to manage data collected by surveillance tools, and provide reports to the public about their use. At-Large Councilor Khrystian King questioned aspects of the policy, including what types of surveillance technology would be subject to Augustus' executive order. "It's very broad," King said. Worcester is using an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) definition of surveillance, Traynor said. It includes items like cameras — including police body cameras — drones and devices that mimic cell phone towers. There some exceptions, including license plate readers and technology that can penetrate cell phones. "It's anything that captures identifiable information about an identifiable person," Traynor said. Facial recognition is also not completely off the table. Augustus said the ban could be repealed if the technology improves. "If at some future date the technology is perfected in a way that doesn't disproportionately impact members of our community, it certainly could be repealed," he said of the impending ban. Facial recognition technology as it exists today is racially biased, according to the ACLU. Somerville, Brookline, Cambridge and Northampton have already moved to ban it. The Worcester City Council will advertise the new ordinance banning the use of the technology before formally passing the law.