Portland Can Address Facial Recognition Technology Concerns Without Banning It

The city of Portland is considering whether to adopt an ordinance that would ban its government agencies from using or acquiring facial recognition technology. The ordinance, which will be the subject of a work session on January 28, would take the wrong approach. But as Ashley Johnson writes in the Portland Oregonian, prohibiting this technology—which can detect and analyze faces to determine people’s identity or other characteristics—would be an overreaction to the perceived risks. Rather than cut the city off from the technology’s significant benefits, the city should address concerns in a more targeted way.