King County Council will consider prohibiting use of facial recognition technology

KING COUNTY, Wash. — Editor’s note: The above video previously aired on KING 5 in May 2021.

The King County Council will consider prohibiting the purchase and use of facial recognition technology by administrative offices, including the sheriff’s office.

The proposed ordinance, which will be considered during Tuesday’s council meeting, would also prohibit county administrative and executive departments from obtaining facial recognition information or entering into an agreement authorizing a third party to use the technology.

A spokesperson for the King County Sheriff’s Office previously said they do not use facial recognition technology and support the measure.

A long list of nonprofits, including the ACLU, sent a letter to the council urging them to pass the ban.

The proposed ban would only impact King County offices and not cities within the county.

The Seattle Police Department does not use facial recognition tools, a spokesperson previously told KING 5.

Of the concerns over the technology, accuracy, demographic biases, and encroachment on civil liberties are major ones.

“The technology is advancing rapidly, and it can be improved, but do we still want to be surveilled to that extent by [the] government?” Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, who is sponsoring the bill that would ban the tools, said in early May.