[This article has been published in Restoring America to highlight how over-the-top government intervention can stifle technological advancement.]

Recent news from Virginia highlights flaws with bans on facial recognition. In 2021, lawmakers in Virginia passed one of the strictest facial recognition bans in the United States. Later this year, the same lawmakers will lift the ban. Other jurisdictions across the country plan to reverse similar bans over fears of an increase in violent crime. Virginian officials have seemingly fallen into accepting a false choice between a ban on facial recognition and its ubiquitous, unchecked use within law enforcement. Yet there are policies that would allow police to use facial recognition while also protecting civil liberties.