From Identification to Mass Surveillance: FRT use and Regulation in the United States of America

ABSTRACT FRT (facial recognition technology) in the United States of America is subjected to differing forms of regulation, from bans to lighter restrictions. They originate mostly from state and local governments and aim to control its use by private companies and law enforcement. There is however no all-encompassing regulation or oversight at the federal level. The first part of this study analyses the different types of FRT uses and regulations in the U.S., showing how the complexity and specificity of governmental regulation allows for a rather permissive use of FRTs. The second part demonstrates how protest movements, and more specifically the protests following the death of George Floyd and the January 6th attack on the Capitol, have been both a catalyst for the government and source of concern for civil rights groups. The ever-growing effectiveness of FRT, as well as its flaws, pose new legal challenges and the question of what may be the most shielding law-making process.

KEYWORDS Civil rights - Facial recognition technonolgy - Protest movements - Surveillance - United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction. – 2. Balancing privacy issues and technological progress: FRT regulation in the United States. – 2.1. Definitions. – 2.2. Federal-level regulation. – 2.3. State-level regulation. – 3. Flaws, concerns and lawsuits. – 3.1. Civil liberties and the U.S. Constitution: discrimination, false negatives, false positives and the end of anonymity. – 3.2. Protests and civil rights claims. – 3.3. Wrongful arrests.