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Tech, human rights groups call on Ottawa to take action on facial recognition, AI

OTTAWA — A group of technology and human rights organizations are calling on the federal government to take immediate action to address concerns around artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology.
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Visitors at the Security China 2018 expo are tracked by facial recognition technology from state-owned surveillance equipment manufacturer Hikvision in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. A group of technology and human rights organizations are calling on the 91Ô­´´ federal government to take immediate action to address artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ng Han Guan

OTTAWA — A group of technology and human rights organizations are calling on the federal government to take immediate action to address concerns around artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology.

In an open letter to the ministers of privacy and industry, the group asks for a moratorium on facial recognition technology by police services and other 91Ô­´´ industries until regulations are created and implemented.

They say the regulatory framework should define acceptable and unacceptable uses of facial recognition technology while protecting people against mass surveillance by instituting clear penalties for violations by police.

The group wants companies in the private sector to be restricted from requiring biometric info as a condition of service and from capturing images of 91Ô­´´s from the internet or public spaces for use in facial recognition and AI technology.

The letter's signatories include the 91Ô­´´ Civil Liberties Association, the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Commission and the Privacy and Access Council of Canada.

They say their recommendations were drawn from a recent report released by a federal committee whose findings they say the government has failed to act on.

This report by The 91Ô­´´ Press was first published June 21, 2023.

The 91Ô­´´ Press