SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco on Tuesday became the first US city to ban use of facial recognition technology by police or other government agencies. Backers of the legislation argued that using software and cameras to positively identify people is, as city councillor Aaron Peskin put it, “not ready for prime time”. All but one of the nine members of San Francisco’s board of supervisors endorsed the legislation, which will be voted on again next week in a procedural step not expected to change the outcome. “The propensity for facial recognition technology to endanger civil rights and civil liberties substantially outweighs its purported benefits, and the technology will exacerbate racial injustice and threaten our ability to live free of continuous government monitoring,“ read the legislation passed Tuesday. The ban was part of broader legislation setting use and auditing policy for surveillance systems, creating high hurdles and requiring board approval … [Read more...] about San Francisco bans facial recognition use by police
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San Francisco may ban police, city use of facial recognition
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By Matt O'Brien And Janie Har The Associated Press Mon., May 13, 2019 San Francisco is on track to become the first U.S. city to ban the use of facial recognition by police and other city agencies as the technology creeps increasingly into daily life. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday on broad surveillance legislation that includes the ban. Facial recognition technology is not new and has been used to run headshots through databases in search of suspects and to prevent identity fraud. But recent advances in artificial intelligence have created more sophisticated computer vision tools that make it easier for police to pinpoint a missing child or a protester in a crowd. Supporters of a ban say the technology poses a severe threat to civil rights. Opponents of a ban say police need tools to catch criminals. Article Continued Below Report an error Journalistic Standards About The Star TOP STORIES, DELIVERED … [Read more...] about San Francisco may ban police, city use of facial recognition
Ridesharing companies worsened congestion in San Francisco
One of the early promises of the ride-hailing era ushered in by Uber and Lyft was that the new entrants would complement public transit, reduce car ownership, and help alleviate urban congestion. But a new study on tech hub San Francisco published Wednesday in Science Advances has found the opposite may be in fact be true: far from reducing traffic, the companies were the biggest contributors to its growth as commuters ditched bus rides or walking for the convenience of their mobile-app summoned rides. The peer-reviewed paper, which adds to a growing body of research in the area, was co-authored by scientists at the University of Kentucky and a team at the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA). It used 2010, when so-called transportation network companies (TNCs) didn't exist, as its baseline to compare travel times and roadway conditions to 2016, when they were firmly established. But the period also saw the city's population grow from 805,000 to 876,000, while some … [Read more...] about Ridesharing companies worsened congestion in San Francisco
Starbucks, Dunkin’ brace for levies, bans on to-go coffee cups
The People’s Republic of Berkeley, Calif., takes pride in its leadership on all things civic and environmental. The small liberal city east of San Francisco was one of the first US cities to adopt curbside recycling. It banned styrofoam and was early to take on plastic shopping bags. Earlier this year, the Berkeley city council put on notice a new environmental scourge: The to-go coffee cup. Some 40 million disposable cups get tossed in the city each year, according to the city council, almost one per resident per day. So in January, the city said it will require coffee shops to charge an extra 25-cents for customers who use a take-away cup. “Waiting is no longer an option,” Sophie Hahn, the Berkeley city council member who wrote the legislation, said at the time. Overwhelmed by trash, jurisdictions around the world are banning single-use plastic takeaway containers and cups. Europe says plastic beverage cups have to go by 2021. India wants them … [Read more...] about Starbucks, Dunkin’ brace for levies, bans on to-go coffee cups
Democrat O’Rourke accuses Trump White House of dictating Fox News content
SAN FRANCISCO: US Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke attacked the close ties between Republican President Donald Trump and Fox News on Sunday (Apr 28), saying the White House has "free rein, almost" over what is broadcast on the cable television network.Democrats have long accused Fox of reporting that is biased in favour of the Republican Party and Trump. The president is an avid watcher of the network, and Sean Hannity, one of its stars, is an admirer of Trump and last year spoke at one of his rallies.Former Fox News executive Bill Shine became a communications official in the Trump White House in 2018, resigning the position in March to be an adviser on Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.Speaking at a campaign event in San Francisco, former Texas congressman O'Rourke, one of 20 candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, criticized the links between the Trump White House and an influential news network."You have members of the organization moving into the … [Read more...] about Democrat O’Rourke accuses Trump White House of dictating Fox News content