Key facts
- Kansas City, Missouri, plans to install facial recognition cameras on public buses.
- The system will check faces against lists of banned riders and missing persons.
- SafeSpace Global is the technology partner for the initiative.
- Facial data will be discarded if no match is found.
- The project has faced delays due to technical and funding issues.
- Privacy advocates express concerns about potential bias and scope creep.
Kansas City, Missouri, is moving forward with a plan to equip some public buses with facial recognition cameras, a move that has ignited a significant debate over security versus privacy. The technology, provided by Knoxville-based SafeSpace Global, is designed to scan passengers' faces and compare them against lists of banned riders or missing persons.
Supporters, like Tyler Means, chief mobility and strategy officer at the Kansas City Transportation Authority, view the technology as a natural progression from existing cameras, suggesting that privacy concerns will diminish over time. SafeSpace Global CEO Scott Boruff stated that the system captures faces only when necessary and does not retain facial data if no match is found, with regular video footage archived for up to five years.
However, privacy advocates, including Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst for the ACLU, express strong concerns. Stanley warned that AI surveillance systems have a tendency to expand their scope beyond initial intentions, potentially leading to broader monitoring. Will Owen of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project criticized the plan as testing unproven and potentially biased technology on the public.
The project has faced setbacks, including the state of Missouri declining to provide funding due to concerns about the facial recognition component. The rollout, initially planned for spring, was delayed due to technical requirements for Wi-Fi routers and financial hurdles. Despite these delays, city officials are confident the program will launch later this year, potentially on a larger scale than initially planned.
Past implementations of facial recognition technology in other cities, such as Tampa and New Orleans, have faced public backlash and legal challenges, often due to concerns about accuracy and bias, particularly for minority groups. Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, while acknowledging the potential for misuse, still advocates for the technology, emphasizing the need for strong, transparent policies and accountability.
Kansas City's city council member Ryana Parks-Shaw stressed the importance of a careful and transparent approach to implementing such technology. For immediate security during events like the World Cup, the city is increasing police patrols on buses and at transit centers as an alternative to the facial recognition system.