--- title: "San Francisco Is Considering a Ban on Facial Recognition" description: "A San Francisco Board of Supervisors member proposed to ban facial recognition outright, calling for an approval process for any future surveillance tech." date: "2019-02-04" modified: "2019-02-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/san-francisco-ban-facial-recognition" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Facial recognition" - "Future Society" tags: - "facial recognition" - "privacy" - "san francisco" - "the digest" --- # San Francisco Is Considering a Ban on Facial Recognition ![A San Francisco Board of Supervisors member proposed to ban facial recognition outright, calling for an approval process for any future surveillance tech.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Ban Hammer Facial recognition technology is everywhere you look — from [unlocking phones]() to [shaming jaywalkers](). But should corporations have the power to use it on you without consent? That's the question the city of San Francisco is tackling right now. A member of the city's Board of Supervisors proposed a ban on facial recognition technology for city agencies on Tuesday, [*Wired* reports]() — potentially forcing tech companies to justify the use of surveillance tools. ## "Coercive and Oppressive Ends" San Francisco city board member Aaron Peskin is calling for an approval process for any new surveillance technology purchases by city agencies such as license plate readers, CCTV, and gun-detection systems. "I have yet to be persuaded that there is any beneficial use of this technology that outweighs the potential for government actors to use it for coercive and oppressive ends,” Peskin told *Wired*. Notably, the proposal doesn't include an approval process for the use of private surveillance tech in public spaces. It also leaves questions about how the bill might affect local law enforcement. ## Growing Momentum There's momentum growing around the idea of limiting the use of facial recognition technology — particularly when it comes to law enforcement. Even Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned of a 1984-like future at a Web Summit in November — despite reports of his company [selling facial recognition tech]() to the government for surveillance. But the tech might already be so deeply entrenched in society that it's too late to rip it out of the ground and ban it completely. **READ MORE:** [San Francisco Could Be First to Ban Facial Recognition Tech]() \[*Wired*\] ***More on facial recognition: [Police Said You Could Skip Public Facial Recognition. They Lied.]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()