Advocacy Groups Sign Letter Supporting Bans of Facial Recognition on Campus

After gaining support from civil liberties groups, activists are planning a national campus day of action in March focused on campus use of facial recognition.

Over 40 advocacy and civil liberties organizations have signed on to the movement to pressure universities to ban the use of facial recognition on college campuses.

In an open letter to school administrators released Thursday, groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Consumer Federation of America, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, Color of Change and the National Immigration Law Center said they supported students who are advocating for bans. The overall effort has been coordinated by Fight for the Future, a privacy rights organization.

“This type of invasive technology poses a profound threat to academic freedom,” the letter reads. “Exposing students and educators to facial recognition profoundly limits their ability to study, research, and express freely without fear of official retaliation. Students should not have to trade their right to privacy for an education.”

So far, the campaign to ban facial recognition, which kicked off last month, has earned over 50 commitments from universities that they do not plan to use the technology. Administrators at Stanford and UCLA have also backed off of proposals to use the software or abandoned opt-in systems.

The letter’s release also comes as student activists are planning a “national campus day of action” on March 2. The organizations involved -- Fight for the Future, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the NYCLU -- are distributing a campaign document to inform student groups of what they can plan for their day of action, including delivering petitions and open letters to administrators. Some campuses will organize tabling events or other acts of protest, according to a press release.

Facial recognition is not widely used on college campuses, as the advocacy groups acknowledge, but some K-12 schools have begun to introduce it as a new measure to keep students safe.

In a statement, Evan Greer, the deputy director of Fight for the Future, said that the campaign is specifically targeting universities because administrators are being courted by companies seeking to sell new security technology to campuses.

“While we ultimately believe that facial recognition should be banned across the board, we’re specifically calling out colleges and universities because they are being targeted by unscrupulous companies, aggressively marketing their tech to colleges and claiming that facial recognition can increase campus safety, streamline attendance, and even measure whether students are paying attention,” Greer said. “But the truth is there is no justifiable reason to use it.”

Overall, the groups hope to pressure Congress into passing a far-reaching ban on facial recognition technology use by government agencies as well as private institutions.

“This is one way to slow down the spread of this technology while lawmakers catch up," Greer told CNET.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Ensuring School Bus Safety: Tech-Driven Advancements and Their Impact on Student Transportation

    Parents and school districts have always shared one fundamental, non-negotiable goal: to keep students safe while traveling to and from school. Period. Read Now

  • How Campus Security Became an Art of Disappearing

    Walk across any university campus at 8:47 a.m. on a Tuesday, and you'll witness something remarkable. Thousands of students stream through buildings, carrying everything from vintage MacBooks to oversized coffee cups, lost in conversations about weekend plans or upcoming exams. If the right weapons detection is in place, most will never notice the sophisticated security measures protecting them. This invisibility can represent the highest achievement in modern campus security design. Read Now

  • Torrance USD Standardizes Its Mass Communications

    The Torrance Unified School District is a cornerstone of the Torrance, Calif. community, dedicated to providing a high-quality education that prepares students for success in college, career, and life. Serving a diverse student population, Torrance USD delivers a comprehensive and enriching educational experience from kindergarten through high school. The school district comprises 17 elementary, eight middle, and five high schools, one continuation high school, and one alternative high school.  Read Now

  • How a Rural School District Enhanced Safety, Reduced Vaping, and Improved Efficiency by Modernizing Security

    As educational leaders, our primary mission is creating safe, productive learning environments where our students can thrive. Today, that unfortunately means addressing ever-evolving challenges that range from security threats to the growing epidemic of student vaping, all while managing tight budgets and (for many of us) geographically dispersed facilities. Read Now