June 29, 2020 3:15 a.m.

Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley along with a number of colleagues, has introduced legislation to stop government use of biometric technology, including facial recognition tools.

A release from Merkley said the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act responds to reports that federal and local law enforcement entities have engaged with facial recognition companies and follows recent pledges by leading technology companies to pause their sale of facial recognition tools to law enforcement.

Merkley claims a growing body of research points to systematic inaccuracy and bias issues in biometric technologies, which he says pose disproportionate risks to non-white individuals. Merkley said “at a time when Americans are demanding we address systemic racism in law enforcement, the use of racial recognition technology is a step in the wrong direction”.