California’s ban on police use of facial recognition is set to expire on Jan. 1, 2023, meaning cops in the field could re-deploy the technology if their departments choose to next year, reports the Voice of San Diego. The ban went into effect in 2020 with support from criminal justice reformers, who warned the technology was racially biased and ripe for abuse, but the legislature failed to take up the cause a second time.
But elected officials have pointed to research by the federal government claiming the accuracy of the technology has improved, and many state and local governments have since backed off their restrictions on facial recognition, citing a rise in crime during the pandemic. Police agencies have not ruled out the possibility of reviving the program in the future.