The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups that represent facial recognition technology vendors oppose the government banning the technology and instead are pushing for greater regulation of the industry to mitigate risks posed.
The Chamber and eight other organizations, including the Internet Association and multiple travel associations, sent a letter Wednesday to the White House with policy recommendations for the responsible use of facial recognition.
“We agree that facial recognition technology poses risks when developed improperly or used inappropriately, but we strongly oppose the imposition of a blanket moratorium through legislation or executive action,” the groups wrote in the letter.
The letter also said that the groups want a combination of technological regulations and policy measures to mitigate the risks posed by facial recognition technology instead of a blanket ban or moratorium on the technology. The regulations could come in the form of safeguards to protect consumers and their privacy to ensure the technology isn’t abused using tools such as data encryption and minimization, aggregation, and anonymization or de-identification of faces in many instances.
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Furthermore, the groups called for a National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee to examine and give advice regarding artificial intelligence in the United States, with an emphasis on bias and facial recognition.
The business groups also want to prioritize research and testing of facial recognition technology and issue an executive order on the federal use of facial recognition that all federal agencies and workers would have to follow in order to use the technology.
Tech companies that sell facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies have come under pressure from civil liberties advocates and their own workers to stop doing so.
Last week, Amazon announced that it would indefinitely extend its ban on police use of its facial recognition software amid growing criticism that the technology invades privacy and incorrectly identifies people with darker skin.
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At least seven states have passed laws restricting the government’s use of facial recognition technology, and many other states are considering such bills.
