The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) is being pushed by privacy groups to recommend that the federal government suspend the use of facial recognition systems pending further review.
“The rapid and unregulated deployment of facial recognition poses a direct threat to ‘the precious liberties that are vital to our way of life," 40 advocacy groups, led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said in a letter to the agency Monday, reports The Hill.
"(The PCLOB) has a unique responsibility, set out in statute, to assess technologies and policies that impact the privacy of Americans after 9-11 and to make recommendations to the President and executive branch," they also wrote.
The independent agency was created in 2004 and advises the administration concerning privacy issues.
The group cited a recent report in The New York Times on Clearview AI, which claims to have a database of more than 3 billion photos and is reportedly collaborating with hundreds of police departments.
In addition, the letter mentions a National Institute of Standards and Technology study that found that most facial recognition systems use “demographic differentials," in which a person's age, gender or race hinder accuracy.
Earlier this month, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing on facial recognition, resulting in lawmakers suggesting a freeze on the technology.
"While we're trying to figure out ... what's all happening, let's just not expand it," said ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. He later told reporters that legislation was being drafted to pause the use of facial recognition systems while further information is gathered.
“It really is not ready for primetime," Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. said during the meeting.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.