Friend,
This week, S.T.O.P. and our friends at Amnesty International shared a major breakthrough in our fight to ban the scan in New York City. After a five-year long lawsuit, we obtained over 2,700 records from NYPD about their use of facial recognition, including alarming details about their deployment of the tech against protesters and communities of color.
The records show that the NYPD spent more than $5 million on facial recognition tech between 2019 and 2020—and continues spending at least six figures each year. We also learned that NYPD abandoned accuracy tracking of its facial recognition back in 2015, after initial data showed an alarmingly high error rate. Among the many shocking revelations, in 2019 NYPD targeted New Yorkers using slang to describe Times Square on social media, including one individual who wrote “NYE in Times Sq is DA BOMB.” The documents also show NYPD used facial recognition solely based on individuals speaking a different language or wearing culturally distinctive attire.
We want to thank our friends at Amnesty International and supporters like you for helping us achieve this huge victory. But transparency is just the first step in the fight against mass surveillance. To truly protect New Yorkers, lawmakers must pass legislation to fully ban the use of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance. There is no place for this racist, abusive tech in our city and state. Join us in demanding New York ban the scan today!
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In solidarity,
David Siffert
Legal Director
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