New Orleans' Facial Recognition Tech Called a 'Nightmare'

A Washington Post investigation found that New Orleans police have secretly used facial recognition technology to scan the city's streets in an effort to identify suspects or wanted persons—per the newspaper, this may be a big first, with no known precedent in any other major US city. The extensive article is raising alarms:

• Reaction: Ars Technica refers to it as allegedly the "sketchiest use of facial recognition yet in the US," while the Independent refers to the software as "Minority Report-like."
• Relevant quote: "This is the facial recognition technology nightmare scenario that we have been worried about," says an ACLU deputy director. "This is the government giving itself the power to track anyone—for that matter, everyone—as we go about our lives walking around in public."

• Background: Project NOLA, a crime prevention nonprofit, owns and manages a network of more than 5,000 cameras, 200 of which have facial recognition tech. The organization does not have a formal contract with the city, but has worked directly with police officers, reports the Post, which says the facial recognition tech was used in secret for two years, starting in early 2023.
• Program pause: New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick tells the paper the program was paused in April, about two months after the Post started requesting public records related to the alerts the facial recognition tech triggers. Kirkpatrick says it was one of her captains who called attention to the alerts as possibly problematic, and she says she halted them at that point while she confirms they're not in violation of any rules.
• Speaking of rules: The Post draws particular attention to a 2022 city ordinance that specified facial recognition tech could only be used to look for specific subjects, and not as an overall tracking and surveillance tool.
• "Critical": Just days ago, two escaped inmates were captured in the French Quarter, and on Monday, the NOPD credited Project NOLA cameras with spotting them so quickly, Fox 8 reports. "This is the exact reason facial recognition technology is so critical and well within our boundaries of the ordinance here," Kirkpatrick says. "We are allowed to use facial recognition technology in an event like this. We are already using our technology to leverage and help us."
• Arrests: Project NOLA says the facial recognition tech has played a role in 34 arrests, but that number could not be verified. The full Post article delves into wrongful arrests that have been attributed to facial recognition technology, as well as how other places have handled such tech. Read it here.

(More New Orleans stories.)