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Robert Williams expressed his excitement about the new safeguards that will be put in place regarding the use of facial recognition technology. He hopes that these changes will lead to a better world, despite the fact that he would prefer the technology not to be used at all. The lawsuit settlement was announced by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at University of Michigan law school, who argue that the technology is flawed and racially biased.
As part of the settlement, Detroit has agreed to pay Williams $300,000 after he was wrongly accused of shoplifting. His driver’s license photo was incorrectly flagged as a likely match to a man seen on security video at a Shinola watch store in 2018. Under the agreement, Detroit police will be prohibited from arresting people based solely on facial recognition results. Additionally, they won’t make arrests based on photo lineups generated from a facial recognition search. Instead, police will need to conduct further investigation to determine if there is evidence to support the identification made by the technology.
Chief James White of the Detroit police announced new policies about the technology last August, during the ongoing litigation. These policies stated that there must be other evidence, besides facial recognition, for police to believe a suspect had the means, ability, and opportunity to commit a crime. As part of the settlement, Detroit police will review cases from 2017 to 2023 in which facial recognition was used. Prosecutors will be notified if any arrests were made without independent evidence.
According to ACLU attorney Phil Mayor, individuals who are arrested based on facial recognition scans and lineup results often face pressure to plead guilty. This pressure is particularly strong for individuals with criminal records, resulting in longer sentences and heightened suspicion from both police and prosecutors.
