Venture Beat: Rep. Jimmy Gomez on the future of facial recognition regulation in Congress

| Posted in In the News

Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) from Los Angeles serves as the committee vice-chair and became interested in algorithmic bias after seeing a SXSW tech panel in 2017 about a lack of diversity in tech leading to inherently biased systems. But what really shook Gomez into action, he said, was being labeled a criminal by Amazon’s Rekognition in a test by the ACLU in 2018. At the time,…

Tech Times: Amazon Bans Police From Using Facial Recognition Technology for One Year

| Posted in In the News

Meanwhile, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform already held hearings to examine the use of facial recognition technology. However, Congress has not yet passed any bill regulating the technology. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Ca., told CNBC he is hopeful Congress will pass a bill this year. He also said Amazon's announcement is a "good first step," although it is still…

Washington Post: IBM’s decision to abandon facial recognition technology fueled by years of debate

| Posted in In the News

Last year, the ACLU sued the FBI, the Department of Justice and other agencies that contract with facial recognition providers to block its use. Former 2020 presidential candidate Julián Castro called the use of facial recognition software for mass surveillance a “dangerous violation of human rights” in a tweet Tuesday. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) echoed the…

CNBC: Microsoft says it won’t sell facial recognition software to police until there’s a national law ‘grounded in human rights’

| Posted in In the News

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has held a number of hearings on the use of facial recognition technology, but has yet to introduce a bill regulating it. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who serves on the committee told CNBC in a phone interview on Wednesday that he’s hopeful Congress will pass a bill this year. Microsoft promotes facial recognition technology as part of its…

New York Times: Amazon Pauses Police Use of Its Facial Recognition Software

| Posted in In the News

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a California Democrat and one of the lawmakers misidentified in the A.C.L.U. test, said he met with Amazon about the issue almost a dozen times. He said Amazon was less open to criticism than its tech peers. “They were avoiding taking any responsibility for their technology in my opinion,” Mr. Gomez said on Wednesday after the company’s announcement. “They always had…

Daily Mail: Amazon bans police from using their facial recognition software for a year amid the George Floyd protests

| Posted in In the News

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Ca., who serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform which has held hearings on the use of facial recognition technology, told CNBC that he hopes a bill will be passed before year's end. 'It's a good first step, but it's still not enough,' Gomez says in response Amazon's moratorium on use of Rekognition. IBM on Monday chose to completely get out of the…

CNBC: Amazon bans police use of facial recognition technology for one year

| Posted in In the News

While the House Committee on Oversight and Reform has held a number of hearings on the use of facial recognition technology, it has yet to introduce a bill regulating the technology. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Ca., who serves on the committee told CNBC in a phone interview he is hopeful Congress will pass a bill this year. “It’s a good first step, but it’s still not enough,” said Rep. Gomez of…

Fox News: IBM ditches facial recognition technology, joins call for police reforms

| Posted in In the News

IBM’s decision was welcomed by California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez. “Smart move by @IBM as we KNOW #FacialRecognition tech as a law enforcement tool is NOT ready for primetime. Back in ‘18, @amazon’s software misidentified me & other Members of Congress — mostly people of color — during an @ACLU test,” he tweeted Monday .”This tech needs legislative guardrails NOW.” Full Article

New York Post: Amazon bans police from using its facial recognition technology for a year

| Posted in In the News

The Democratic-controlled House has held a series of hearings on facial recognition software, but Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-California), who serves on the committee, blamed Amazon for a lack of legislation regulating the technology. “It’s a good first step, but it’s still not enough,” Gomez told CNBC. “They’re saying, ‘we’ve been asking Congress to put guardrails on the use of this…

Government Executive: Democrats Press FEMA on Hurricane Season Preparations Amid Pandemic

| Posted in In the News

On Monday, House Democrats pressed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to explain how the agency plans to handle hurricane season and other natural disasters amid the public health crisis. The Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee's Environment subcommittee sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor asking for a video hearing by June 22. Prior to…

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