Reason Round Table: A weekly discussion group for thoughtful, curious people

The Ethics of using Facial Recognition Surveillance Technologies

Recently in New Orleans, LA when 10 convicts escaped from a maximum security prison making national headlines and setting the city on edge, facial recognition surveillance technology played a key role in capturing several of the escapees.

This technology was used despite a previous decision to discontinue the use of the technology by the New Orleans police to “ensure full compliance with NOPD policy, city ordinance and constitutional standards".

On the one hand, this technology clearly leads to more robust law enforcement and ultimately safer cities.

On the other hand authoritarian regimes (e.g., in China) are using facial recognition to monitor and suppress ethnic minorities like Uyghur Muslims.

Clearly a tool that can be used for both good and bad purposes, what are the ethical considerations around using or not using this technology?

Public more likely to see facial recognition use by police as good, rather than bad for society
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/03/17/public-more-likely-to-see-facial-recognition-use-by-police-as-good-rather-than-bad-for-society/

Project NOLA says NOPD opted out of automatic alerts from its facial recognition cameras
https://www.fox8live.com/2025/05/20/project-nola-says-nopd-opted-out-automatic-alerts-its-facial-recognition-cameras/

UK police use of live facial recognition unlawful and unethical, report finds
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/27/live-facial-recognition-police-study-uk

Facial-recognition research needs an ethical reckoning
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03256-7