King County Becomes 1st In US To Ban Facial Recognition Software

KING COUNTY, WA — In a unanimous vote, all nine members of the Metropolitan King Council voted Tuesday to ban government and law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition software. While a growing number of cities across the United States, including Portland and San Francisco, have enacted similar bans, King County is the first county in the nation to enact such restrictions — and one of the largest jurisdictions to do so.

Civil rights groups, including the ACLU, have supported such bans in King County and elsewhere, citing the facial recognition technology's proneness to inaccuracy and studies showing a much higher chance that it misidentifies people of color. As the New York Times reports, a 2019 study found more than 100 algorithms performed poorly at analyzing Black and Asian people's faces. In at least two cases in Michigan, the Times said Black men were wrongfully arrested based solely on flawed facial recognition software.

"The use of facial recognition technology by government agencies poses distinct threats to our residents, including potential misidentification, bias, and the erosion of our civil liberties," said Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, the legislation's prime sponsor. "The use or misuse of these technologies has potentially devastating consequences which the new ordinance will help to prevent."

King County's ban applies only to its jurisdictions, including the sheriff's office and its contract cities, but does not apply to cities with their own police departments. A spokesperson for the King County Sheriff's Office said they were not using the technology and would not have to make any changes as a result of the legislation.

Proponents of the legislation hailed its passage as a milestone on the path toward getting facial recognition software banned across the country.

"Today's unanimous vote to adopt a facial recognition ban is a huge win for the residents of King County and an important step forward in the effort to stop government use of this harmful and racist technology," said Jennifer Lee, with ACLU Washington. "With this vote, King County joins a growing number of local jurisdictions across the nation that have approved similar restrictions. Now it's time for a federal ban on government use of facial recognition to ensure that no one's civil liberties and civil rights are violated by a pervasive and often inaccurate technology that disproportionately misidentifies people of color and heightens the risk of surveillance and deadly encounters with law enforcement in already marginalized and overpoliced communities."

King County Executive Dow Constantine supported the council's legislation and is expected to sign it into law.