Banned in PDX Banned in PDX

Portland’s city council passed its groundbreaking facial recognition ban. City lawmakers stressed the move was not anti-tech but rather anti-racist. Meanwhile, Banned in PDX reveals how the ban has led one convenience store chain with multiple locations in Portland using facial recognition to consider shutting its doors overnight. In this last episode of Banned in PDX (at least for awhile), you’ll learn more about the potential impact of the ban, what it means for people flying in and out of Portland International airport and next steps for the city’s digital justice mission.

Amazon spent $24,000 to lobby Portland lawmakers against it. National and local business and tech groups have fought it. One Oregon trade association even asked for an exemption. As Portland City Council nears its vote on what could be the most restrictive ban on facial recognition anywhere…the latest episode of BANNED IN PDX explains why industry groups seem in lockstep against a ban.

Jeff Merkley believes that governments, from the city to the state to the national level, should stop the use of biometric technologies. The U.S. senator from Oregon earlier this month added yet another bill to a growing list of legislation he’s cosponsored - his third bill this year that would restrict use of controversial biometrics. Merkley’s list of reasons for wanting to limit biometric technologies is even longer. Among them he cites invasive data privacy infringements, racial discrimination, foreign hacking and the threat of a surveillance state. In this episode of Banned in PDX, you’ll hear from Sen. Jeff Merkley about his goal to pause use of facial recognition and other biometric tech.

With police tactics under immense scrutiny in Portland, the moment could not be any more ripe - or raw - for a vote on legislation limiting the ability for law enforcement to employ facial recognition in the name of public safety. In this, the most in-depth episode of Banned in PDX yet, reporter Kate Kaye reveals how a Washington, D.C. think tank with deep connections to tech firms including facial recognition maker Amazon has pushed for police use of biometric tech in Portland and beyond, how a sheriff’s office right next door used Amazon’s facial recognition system for next-to-nothing, and how the technology has been used to identify protestors in Black Lives Matter demonstrations. This episode features voices from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Portland Police Bureau, Portland City Council, National Police Foundation and Washington County Sheriff’s Office.