Senate Majority Leader Backs Brookline Facial Recognition Ban

BROOKLINE, MA — Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem is praising the proposal to ban government use of facial recognition technology in Brookline. If the proposal from town meeting member Amy Hummel is adopted at November's special town meeting, Brookline would join Somerville as state municipalities to place restrictions on the software.

"In considering this proposal," Sen. Creem, who represents Brookline, said in a statement to Patch, "Brookline is joining a growing number of communities that are concerned about the government's unregulated use of facial recognition technology. This intrusive technology threatens the civil rights and civil liberties of Massachusetts residents."

The Newton Democrat has filed legislation on the state level to "Press Pause" on government use of the technology until she said "appropriate safeguards and oversight are put in place."

Brookline Selectboard Chair Bernard Greene told Patch that while he sees merits in Hummel's proposal on the surface, he wants more information before taking a stance on a ban.

"It seems very legitimate," he said. "Facial recognition technology is scary technology, and can be abused very easily, as we can see in what's happening in China. But I am not aware of all of the issues associated with it yet. That's why it's vital to review all those issues before we make a decision or develop an opinion."

Hong Kong protestors in recent weeks have destroyed lampposts where China's extensive use of facial recognition cameras can be mounted.

Greene stressed that the proposal is just the beginning of the process of considering a ban in Brookline.

"If you read some things in the press, it seems like we've almost adopted it and that's not the case," he said.

A proposal placed on the warrant for town meeting goes to the Selectboard and Advisory Committee for review and potential hearings, with combined recommendations then presented to the full town meeting membership for consideration.

In June, the Somerville City Council voted unanimously to ban the software in that city.

"My concern here is that this is being rolled out around the country, being marketed to law enforcement agencies currently with no regulations, guardrails or public transparency about what is and what's not allowed," Somerville City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, who introduced the bill in that city, told Patch following that vote. "I think that's a really dangerous situation."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts agrees and issued a statement in support of Hummel's Brookline proposal.

"People should be able to walk around Brookline without worrying that government agencies are keeping tabs on their every movement," said Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts in a statement posted on its website. "For too long, face surveillance technology has gone unregulated, posing a serious threat to our basic civil rights and civil liberties. In the absence of state or national action, municipal governments have taken the first steps towards sensible policy. We are grateful for Brookline's leadership to bring this technology under democratic control."