Minneapolis City Council Bans Facial Recognition Technology

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minneapolis City Council approved a new ordinance Friday that prohibits the city from buying facial recognition technology or using data derived from it, with very narrow exceptions.

The city now joins Boston, San Francisco and more than a dozen other cities across the country that have either banned or limited the use of the technology.

“We have heard strong concerns from community about technology that invades their privacy without their consent, and we need to regulate it,” said Council Member Steve Fletcher, who authored the ordinance. “This ordinance bars its use by City departments with some narrow exceptions that do not risk harm to its subjects.”

Facial recognition technology uses computer algorithms or other automated processes to analyze images of human faces. Council members said they heard concerns from residents about how the technology could be used to capture people’s faces without their consent and conduct widespread automated surveillance.

Studies have also shown facial recognition technology to be significantly less accurate in identifying people of color, women, and other groups, raising concerns that incorrect identifications by law enforcement would further harm already disadvantaged communities.

“Facial recognition technology works pretty well if you look like me – a middle-aged white man – but for everyone else, it can fail at rates that we would not accept anywhere else,” Fletcher added. “It is unacceptable for us to subject people in our city – particularly women of color – to such a high level of risk.”

Along with banning the purchase of the technology, the new ordinance creates a transparent process for city departments to request additional permitted uses of facial recognition programs and data through an exception process.