Portland, Oregon, has become the first jurisdiction in the country to ban the private-sector use of facial recognition technology in public places within the city. Passed unanimously by the Portland City Council, the Ordinance will take effect January 1, 2021, and instances of gender and racial bias in facial recognition technology, along with the fact that marginalized communities have been subject to “over surveillance and [the] disparate and detrimental impact of the use of surveillance,” both were cited as rationale for its creation. Defined terms include “face recognition,” “face recognition technologies,” “places of public accommodation” and “private entity.”
