Eastsider LA: More federal money requested for L.A. River restoration

| Posted in In the News

Four Los Angeles area members of Congress sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to request more federal funding for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project and increase the corps' public-private partnership program funding. Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Grace Napolitano, Lucille Roybal-Allard and Jimmy Gomez authored the letter sent to the Army Corps of…

Herald Sun: Amazon Rekognition ban slammed for being ‘performative’

| Posted in In the News

Californian Congressman Jimmy Gomez has also claimed the company has been ignoring his questions about the software for years. While brands scramble to have their say on the Black Lives Matter movement (with many voicing support but seemingly few opening their wallets to help), Amazon made a brief announcement that it would stop letting police using its “Rekognition” software. But not…

MSNBC: Rep Gomez: DACA ruling 'keeps hope alive for another day'

| Posted in In the News

Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) joins Ayman Mohyeldin after the Supreme Court ruled that the President cannot shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Gomez argues that while this is a victory, real change cannot be implemented unless President Trump, who uses immigration as a "political hammer," is voted out of office. Watch

CNET: Congress, cops and facial recognition: Amazon's pause puts the pressure on

| Posted in In the News

For starters, Amazon's call to pass legislation during its one-year moratorium presents an unrealistic timeline for lawmakers, especially during an election year, members of Congress have said. Given that lawmakers have proposed several laws on facial recognition in the last year without any progress, it's unlikely any meaningful legislation will pass by June…

The Hill: Facial recognition tools under fresh scrutiny amid police protests

| Posted in In the News

While that effort was derailed in recent months — by the coronavirus and some reshuffling of committee members — negotiations have restarted in recent days, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) told The Hill in an interview Tuesday. There is now “broad consensus” on the committee for some sort of moratorium, he said, and “now we need to find a consensus on the solution.” Full Article

Bloomberg: Lawmaker Questions Amazon Over Facial Recognition Amid Protests

| Posted in In the News

A House lawmaker is pressing Amazon.com Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos to reveal more details about the company’s plans to pause selling facial-recognition software to law enforcement. Representative Jimmy Gomez, a California Democrat, wrote Bezos in a letter dated Tuesday that Amazon should say whether it will stop developing its facial-recognition system during its one-year…

CNBC: Skeptical lawmaker pushes Bezos for answers on Amazon moratorium on facial recognition tech

| Posted in In the News

“While I am encouraged by the direction Amazon appears to be taking on this issue, the ambiguity of the announcement raises more questions than answers,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California wrote in a letter sent Monday night and obtained by CNBC. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform, whose members include Gomez, has held hearings on the matter but has yet to introduce a bill…

CNET: Amazon owes answers on facial recognition moratorium, lawmaker says

| Posted in In the News

Amazon's move to stop providing facial recognition to law enforcement until June 2021 has left more questions than answers. The company's announcement, limited to 102 words in a blog post, left out a lot of details on what the moratorium actually means, and a House representative is demanding answers from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In a letter sent to Bezos and Amazon on Wednesday, Rep.…

Daily Dot: Congressman identified as criminal by Amazon demands answers on facial recognition moratorium

| Posted in In the News

A member of the House of Representatives who was misidentified as a criminal in an experiment using Amazon’s facial recognition software told the company its recent announcement of a one-year moratorium on police use of the technology “raises more questions than answers.”  Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos this week where he raised questions about…

Mashable: Congressman calls out Amazon's 'performative' facial-recognition moratorium

| Posted in In the News

Sometimes, you just have to call BS. That appears to be the thinking of California Congressman Jimmy Gomez, who on June 17 shared a letter addressed to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos demanding specifics on his company's supposed year-long moratorium on providing its facial-recognition tools to police. Because when it comes to Amazon's big June 10 announcement, sadly there is no…

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