A Montana legislative committee is taking a close look at facial recognition technology, and probing state agencies on potential uses and abuses. Coming up November 17th at the state capitol in Helena, lawmakers will question several state agency officials during an Economic Affairs interim committee meeting.

Here's my take- people are very concerned about the surveillance state in America, especially right now, especially after these lockdowns and everything that we've been living through. And it only seems like things are getting worse across the country.

We spoke with State Sen. Ken Bogner (R-Miles City) about the bipartisan concerns over facial recognition technology.

Sen. Bogner: Representative Sullivan (D-Missoula) heard what what the members were saying and that they still wanted to tackle the issue. So she introduced a resolution, HJ 48...and that resolution and getting 129 our of 150 votes. So very bipartisan, people understood that this is a this is a big issue. Very important. So coming up on next week is our first hearing.

Sen. Bogner says the committee will look at four main topics.

Sen. Bogner: Which state agencies are using facial recognition technology, and if they are- why. Second, we're going to look at how Montana is using facial recognition to investigate crimes in the state. Third thing we're going to look at is security of facial recognition data and how it's shared among other government agencies. And then finally, we're looking at what protective measures other states are taking in regards to facial recognition.

Here's the details for the meeting if you want to listen and/or comment:

Who: Economic Affairs Interim Committee

When: November 17, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.

Where: Room 137, State Capitol, and Zoom

 

Click here to participate remotely.

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