ACLU opposes Ting facial recognition bill + California is No. 2 for animal shelter euthanasia
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
ACLU COMES OUT AGAINST TING FACIAL RECOGNITION BILL
Last week, we reported that Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, had introduced AB 642, a bill to limit police use of facial recognition technology.
Since our report, ACLU California Action has come out in strong opposition to the bill, calling the legislation “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” that will give the police access to surveillance technology that could be used to oppress activists, communities of color, the LGBTQ community, women seeking abortions and undocumented immigrants.
It is the ACLU’s position that there is no acceptable police uses for face surveillance technology “without worsening racial disparities in policing, repressing freedom of speech, undermining the right to protest, and violating our privacy.”
ACLU legislative advocate Becca Cramer-Mowder told The Bee that “the standard really needs to be a ban or moratorium on police-used face surveillance systems.”
Once, the ACLU and Ting were allies on facial recognition technology.
In 2019, Ting authored, and the ACLU championed, AB 1215, which placed a moratorium on law enforcement’s use of the technology, until Jan. 1 of this year.
“We’re disappointed that he appears to have changed his position,” Cramer-Mowder said.
She said that the ACLU will be testifying in opposition to the bill, and “we anticipate being joined by other civil rights organizations.”
Why oppose police use of facial recognition technology?
Cramer-Mowder said that it gives “unprecedented power” to the government to create records of peoples’ movements across time.
If you don’t want your cellphone or license plate to be tracked, you can leave the phone at home or not drive, she said.
“You can’t leave your face at home,” Cramer-Mowder said.
Then there’s the technology’s limitations when it comes to identifying women and people of color, often generating “false positives.”
“But even if it were perfectly accurate, it is too dangerous for police to use,” she said.
Cramer-Mowder painted a picture of the technology as being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track down immigrants or by law enforcement to identify women seeking abortions or transgender people seeking gender-affirming treatment.
Those are just some of the “really problematic ways” it can be used, Cramer-Mowder said.
AB 642 is set to be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on March 28.
CALIFORNIA IS NO. 2 FOR ANIMAL SHELTER EUTHANASIA
Remember in 2020 when California governor, and avowed animal lover, Gavin Newsom called for California to become a “no-kill” state at its animal shelters?
Unfortunately, three years later, it looks like the Golden State still has a long way to go.
According to a new report from Veterinarians.org, California is No. 2 in the country for number of dogs and cats that are euthanized at animal shelters, behind only Texas.
More than 37,000 animals are killed in California in a given year, according to the report.
To get that number, the website looked at animal shelter intake and outcome data from more than 3,200 shelters across the country. The numbers cited do not include the estimated 10% of shelter animals that are euthanized due to irreparable medical or behavioral issues.
This year, the Legislature could reduce that number.
Lawmakers are considering AB 595, which would institute a mandatory 72-hour wait period before a shelter can euthanize a dog or cat, during which they must provide online notice of their intent to euthanize.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Hey to my fellow #caleg newbies. There is nothing suspenseful about being in the suspense file. Your bill is dead.”
- Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, via Twitter.
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