Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) sent a statement to the Department of Housing and Urban Development asking it to ban the use of facial recognition in public housing.
We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.
The use of facial recognition is controversial anyway, let alone when it’s used invasively in public housing as the residents are often of low-income.
A recent report by The Washington Post covered the concerns about using biometric surveillance in public housing. It stated that surveillance creates the feeling of being a suspect.
In 2021, Pressley and Reps. Rashid Tlaib (D-MI) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY) introduced a bill to ban biometric surveillance in public housing. The bill was not successful.
In April, the Housing and Human Development officials sent a notice to the director of the housing department saying that the Capital Fund Emergency Safety and Security Grants cannot be used to fund facial recognition safety. According to the report by the Post, the restriction has been repeatedly violated.
