The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has enacted to ban the use of facial recognition technology by police and all other municipal agencies.
The Board of Supervisors passed the ordinance 8-1.
The ordinance must still go to a second vote next week before it is officially passed.
The ban covers government agencies, including the city police and county sheriff’s department, but doesn’t affect security cameras installed by businesses or individuals.
The Information Technology and Innovation Forum, a think tank backed by tech companies including Amazon, which makes Rekognition facial recognition software, tweeted, "Policymakers can promote the responsible use of facial recognition technology without banning it."
Similar legislation is under consideration in nearby Oakland, and Massachusetts Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem introduced a bill that would impose a moratorium on facial recognition software in the state until the technology improves.
