As the world forges ahead into the digital age, privacy has become an increasingly rare commodity; a privilege that many people no longer have. Law enforcement agencies' need to adopt new technology to better catch criminals has further complicated the matter.

For example, China has rolled out "gait recognition" tech to identify criminal suspects even when their backs are turned, and in the US, law enforcement agencies have taken advantage of Amazon's "Rekognition" facial recognition tech.

Concerns regarding the accuracy of this tech and the potential for false positives are commonly shared by privacy proponents, but those fears rarely stop law enforcement from moving forward. However, in California, privacy boosters may just get a major win -- the state's Senate is considering legislation that could outright ban the use of facial recognition tech in police body cameras.

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"Much of it that is being used right now is actually not very accurate," said legislation supporter and San Francisco-based Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting, in reference to existing facial recognition tech.

Ting isn't the only one to feel that way -- the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) expressed similar concerns with Amazon's Rekognition in the past when their experiments with the tech led to 28 lawmakers falsely being identified as criminals (with "80 percent" accuracy). Though Amazon questioned the ACLU's methods, the organization did not rescind its worries.

The legislation in question, Assembly Bill 1215, is expected to enter the upper chamber of California's state Assembly "starting next month." We will update you on the bill's progress when that time comes around.

 

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