Portland, Or. Bans Private Entity Use of Face Recognition Technologies in Public Spaces | Practical Law

Portland, Or. Bans Private Entity Use of Face Recognition Technologies in Public Spaces | Practical Law

The City of Portland, Oregon has passed a leading-edge, broad ordinance banning private entities from using face recognition technologies in places of public accommodation beginning on January 1, 2021.

Portland, Or. Bans Private Entity Use of Face Recognition Technologies in Public Spaces

by Practical Law Data Privacy Advisor
Published on 11 Sep 2020 • Oregon, USA (National/Federal)
The City of Portland, Oregon has passed a leading-edge, broad ordinance banning private entities from using face recognition technologies in places of public accommodation beginning on January 1, 2021.
On September 9, 2020, the City of Portland, Oregon issued an announcement that Mayor Ted Wheeler and the Portland City Council unanimously passed a leading-edge ordinance to prevent private entities from using defined face recognition technologies in places of public accommodation within the city's boundaries. The ban reflects the city's framework to prevent discrimination in these spaces.
Places of public accommodation include facilities that the public uses, such as bars or restaurants, entertainment and exercise venues, retail and service establishments, and recreation and public gathering spaces. They do not include distinctly private facilities that commercial, private clubs, or religious organizations operate.
The ordinance:
  • Provides exceptions for:
    • compliance with federal, state, or local law;
    • user verification to access individually owned or employer-issued devices; and
    • automatic face detection in social media apps.
  • Includes a private right of action with compensation for the greater of damages or $1,000 for each day of violation, other appropriate remedies, and attorney's fees.
  • Takes effect on January 1, 2021.
The ordinance defines:
  • Face recognition as the automated searching for a reference image that compares the facial features in a probe image with features of images in an image repository, also known as a one-to-many search. Face recognition usually ranks likely candidates of images or returns a negative result.
  • Face recognition technologies as automated or semi-automated processes using face recognition that assist in identifying, verifying, detecting, or characterizing an individual's facial features or capturing information based on an individual's face.
  • Government agency as:
    • the US government;
    • the State of Oregon, including any offices, institutions, agency, department, or other state body; or
    • any State of Oregon political subdivision.
  • Private entity, which does not include a government agency, to mean any:
    • individual or sole proprietorship;
    • partnership, corporation, or limited liability company; or
    • association or other legal entity.
The city stated that it opted to pass the ordinance because:
  • Face recognition technologies have been shown to exhibit gender and racial bias.
  • The collection, trade, and use of biometric information may compromise individuals' privacy.
  • The city aims to protect Portlanders' sensitive information while it assesses these risks and sets up better infrastructure and policies.
The ordinance:
  • Will remain in effect until the city adopts or revises an appropriate model to regulate face recognition technologies.
  • Complements a related ordinance that the city passed to ban city bureaus' use and acquisition of face recognition technologies, which takes effect immediately.