PROVIDENCE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island is taking the state labor department to court seeking access to records about facial recognition technology, the organization announced on Tuesday.
The complaint filed against R.I. Department of Labor and Training Director Matthew Weldon seeks to overturn the DLT’s denial of a records request made in August, according to the lawsuit filed in Providence County Superior Court on Monday. Hannah Stern, policy associate for the ACLU, had requested emails and other documentation on whether the DLT was considering using facial recognition technology to process unemployment claims. The request, made under the Access to Public Records Act, was prompted by news reports suggesting that other states had already started using this technology to review unemployment claims, according to the ACLU.
The request was denied, with DLT citing state and federal laws that exempt the information from public records requests, according to exhibits included in the court complaint.
The ACLU is fighting back, however, saying the denial was “improper” and there was “no legal basis” for why the records could not be made public, according to its complaint.
“The DLT’s refusal to release documents about its potential use is not only contrary to tenets of governmental transparency, but it also means that the agency believes it can implement intrusive surveillance tools without any public oversight,” Stern said in a statement. “At a bare minimum, residents should have the right to know when invasive technologies are being considered or used and any policies guiding their usage. Concealing this information unacceptably undermines the public’s right to know.”
Weldon in an emailed response Tuesday said, “The department does not, and has no plans to, use facial recognition technology for any of our programs. We will be in contact with the ACLU’s attorneys on this matter today to clear this issue up and provide the information they have requested. We apologize for any confusion we caused and look forward to a quick resolution in the courts.”
The state in its denial offered the option to appeal its decision through an administrative process, which is typical for public records requests. The ACLU did not take them up on that offer, instead choosing to proceed directly to court, said Executive Director Steven Brown.
The appeal is typically reviewed by the same people that denied the initial request, so a lawsuit made more sense in terms of efficiency, Brown said on Tuesday.
In addition to overturning the records request denial, the lawsuit also seeks to fine the DLT up to $2,000 for “wrongfully denying” public records protections.
(SUBS 6th paragraph with DLT response.)
ACLU should stick to banning monkeys from greeting cards and let the DLT do its job.
Don’t know why the ACLU is worried about facial recognition anyway. We’ll all be wearing masks for the rest of our lives if the Ds have their way.