We Must Fight Face Surveillance to Protect Black Lives
Dear AJL Family,
We are holding space to grieve, to mourn, and we are also full of righteous anger. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, Nina Pop, and Tony McDade are only the latest in what feels like an endless chain of police and vigilante violence against Black men, women, children, trans folks, and non-binary people.
As we mobilize for Black lives, the Algorithmic Justice League urges that we reign in unchecked government surveillance of Black communities, in general, and police use of face surveillance technology, specifically. These tools harm Black life. We believe the broader movement for racial justice must include the demand to halt police use of face surveillance technology within municipal, statewide, and federal policy proposals.
We ask organizers to include community oversight and control of government use of surveillance technology and to halt police use of face surveillance technology among their demands. Bans and moratoria have already been proposed, and in some cases passed, at the city and state levels and there is a growing call for federal regulation. We've provided examples, links to toolkits, educational resources, and links to current campaigns in specific places.
Please follow us on social at @ajlunited and share our mission.
Fighting algorithmic justice takes all of us! Our mission - and yours - is to raise awareness about the impacts of AI, build the voice and choice of the most impacted communities, and protect our world from AI harms and biases.
