SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Facial recognition software scans and analyzes a woman's facial features. (Photo: izusek/Getty Images)
Maine Sets Example With 'Country's Strongest' Facial Recognition Ban
"Democracy is stronger and communities are safer when we have clear rules and accountability for how governments use new and emerging technologies."
Jun 30, 2021
Civil liberties advocates on Wednesday cheered as Maine enacted what that state's ACLU chapter called "the country's strongest statewide facial recognition law."
"I hope that Maine can provide an example to other states that want to rein in the government's ability to use facial recognition and other invasive biometric technologies."
--Maine Rep. Grayson Lookner, sponsor
The new law--which sailed unanimously through both chambers of the state Legislature and was passed without any action from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills--bans the use of facial recognition technology by most state agencies and for the purpose of surveillance.
The legislation contains exceptions for the investigation of serious crime; the identification of deceased, missing, or endangered persons; and other limited purposes.
When the law goes into effect this October, it will prohibit the use of facial surveillance in schools. It will also ban direct access to facial recognition technology by law enforcement officials, who will have to request such access via the FBI and Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles in the narrow purview permitted by the legislation.
"Maine is at the forefront of a national movement to preserve civil rights and liberties in the digital age," said Alison Beyea, executive director at the ACLU of Maine, which helped craft the legislation.
"Democracy is stronger and communities are safer when we have clear rules and accountability for how governments use new and emerging technologies," added Beyea.
\u201cBIG NEWS: Maine has enacted the strongest statewide facial recognition law in the country. Facial recognition technology in most areas of government & for surveillance purposes is prohibited. Law enforcement use is strictly regulated. @onekade @LooknerFurther @ACLU\u201d— ACLU of Maine (@ACLU of Maine) 1625058699
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Grayson Lookner--a Portland Democrat--called the new law "a huge victory for privacy rights and civil liberties in Maine."
"It's also a victory for bipartisanship and cooperation," Lookner added. "I hope that Maine can provide an example to other states that want to rein in the government's ability to use facial recognition and other invasive biometric technologies."
The ACLU of Maine said the state's new law "stands in sharp contrast to the only other statewide approach to regulating face recognition in the United States, a law passed in Washington state in 2020."
"That law, which was backed by Microsoft, authorizes police across the state to use facial recognition technology to conduct mass surveillance of people's public movements, habits, and associations," the group added.
Starting with San Francisco in 2019, more than a dozen U.S. municipalities from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine have also passed facial recognition bans.
There are no federal rules restricting law enforcement use of facial recognition.
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Civil liberties advocates on Wednesday cheered as Maine enacted what that state's ACLU chapter called "the country's strongest statewide facial recognition law."
"I hope that Maine can provide an example to other states that want to rein in the government's ability to use facial recognition and other invasive biometric technologies."
--Maine Rep. Grayson Lookner, sponsor
The new law--which sailed unanimously through both chambers of the state Legislature and was passed without any action from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills--bans the use of facial recognition technology by most state agencies and for the purpose of surveillance.
The legislation contains exceptions for the investigation of serious crime; the identification of deceased, missing, or endangered persons; and other limited purposes.
When the law goes into effect this October, it will prohibit the use of facial surveillance in schools. It will also ban direct access to facial recognition technology by law enforcement officials, who will have to request such access via the FBI and Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles in the narrow purview permitted by the legislation.
"Maine is at the forefront of a national movement to preserve civil rights and liberties in the digital age," said Alison Beyea, executive director at the ACLU of Maine, which helped craft the legislation.
"Democracy is stronger and communities are safer when we have clear rules and accountability for how governments use new and emerging technologies," added Beyea.
\u201cBIG NEWS: Maine has enacted the strongest statewide facial recognition law in the country. Facial recognition technology in most areas of government & for surveillance purposes is prohibited. Law enforcement use is strictly regulated. @onekade @LooknerFurther @ACLU\u201d— ACLU of Maine (@ACLU of Maine) 1625058699
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Grayson Lookner--a Portland Democrat--called the new law "a huge victory for privacy rights and civil liberties in Maine."
"It's also a victory for bipartisanship and cooperation," Lookner added. "I hope that Maine can provide an example to other states that want to rein in the government's ability to use facial recognition and other invasive biometric technologies."
The ACLU of Maine said the state's new law "stands in sharp contrast to the only other statewide approach to regulating face recognition in the United States, a law passed in Washington state in 2020."
"That law, which was backed by Microsoft, authorizes police across the state to use facial recognition technology to conduct mass surveillance of people's public movements, habits, and associations," the group added.
Starting with San Francisco in 2019, more than a dozen U.S. municipalities from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine have also passed facial recognition bans.
There are no federal rules restricting law enforcement use of facial recognition.
Civil liberties advocates on Wednesday cheered as Maine enacted what that state's ACLU chapter called "the country's strongest statewide facial recognition law."
"I hope that Maine can provide an example to other states that want to rein in the government's ability to use facial recognition and other invasive biometric technologies."
--Maine Rep. Grayson Lookner, sponsor
The new law--which sailed unanimously through both chambers of the state Legislature and was passed without any action from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills--bans the use of facial recognition technology by most state agencies and for the purpose of surveillance.
The legislation contains exceptions for the investigation of serious crime; the identification of deceased, missing, or endangered persons; and other limited purposes.
When the law goes into effect this October, it will prohibit the use of facial surveillance in schools. It will also ban direct access to facial recognition technology by law enforcement officials, who will have to request such access via the FBI and Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles in the narrow purview permitted by the legislation.
"Maine is at the forefront of a national movement to preserve civil rights and liberties in the digital age," said Alison Beyea, executive director at the ACLU of Maine, which helped craft the legislation.
"Democracy is stronger and communities are safer when we have clear rules and accountability for how governments use new and emerging technologies," added Beyea.
\u201cBIG NEWS: Maine has enacted the strongest statewide facial recognition law in the country. Facial recognition technology in most areas of government & for surveillance purposes is prohibited. Law enforcement use is strictly regulated. @onekade @LooknerFurther @ACLU\u201d— ACLU of Maine (@ACLU of Maine) 1625058699
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Grayson Lookner--a Portland Democrat--called the new law "a huge victory for privacy rights and civil liberties in Maine."
"It's also a victory for bipartisanship and cooperation," Lookner added. "I hope that Maine can provide an example to other states that want to rein in the government's ability to use facial recognition and other invasive biometric technologies."
The ACLU of Maine said the state's new law "stands in sharp contrast to the only other statewide approach to regulating face recognition in the United States, a law passed in Washington state in 2020."
"That law, which was backed by Microsoft, authorizes police across the state to use facial recognition technology to conduct mass surveillance of people's public movements, habits, and associations," the group added.
Starting with San Francisco in 2019, more than a dozen U.S. municipalities from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine have also passed facial recognition bans.
There are no federal rules restricting law enforcement use of facial recognition.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.