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These concerns have pushed lawmakers to consider how a facial recognition moratorium would work. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a Democrat from California, has been looking into a bill that would impose a moratorium on facial recognition for at least two years, starting from January 2021. Merkley proposed the Ethical Use of Facial Recognition Act in February, which would put a moratorium on… Read more »

When the American Civil Liberties Union tested Amazon's controversial facial recognition technology on photos of Congress members in 2018, the software incorrectly matched 28 members with the mugshots of people who had been arrested for a crime, with the mis-identifications disproportionately affecting people of color. Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California was one of the ones affected. He… Read more »

Boston’s ban comes as lawmakers are facing increased pressure to reduce surveillance tactics and defund police agencies. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) told VentureBeat recently that facial recognition regulation is on the way from Congress with a moratorium on use by federal law enforcement. Privacy advocates are sometimes split on whether a temporary stay or moratorium on… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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 Read more »

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… Read more »

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 Read more »

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… Read more »

“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… Read more »