A facial recognition algorithm used by a local roller skating rink in Detroit wouldn’t let teen Lamya Robinson onto the premises, and accused her of

Black teen barred from skating rink by inaccurate facial recognition

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2021-07-15 19:00:05

A facial recognition algorithm used by a local roller skating rink in Detroit wouldn’t let teen Lamya Robinson onto the premises, and accused her of previously getting into a fight at the establishment.

The facial recognition system had incorrectly matched her to another patron, she told Fox 2 Detroit. The rink removed her from the building and put her outside alone, her family says.

“To me, it’s basically racial profiling,” Juliea Robinson, her mother, told the TV station. “You’re just saying every young Black, brown girl with glasses fits the profile and that’s not right.”

The harms of facial recognition systems deployed in businesses and by police have been slowly coming to light as the technology is more widely used. Research into these algorithms has shown that they are far less accurate when distinguishing between the faces of Black people, women, and children, which might help explain the error faced by Lamya Robinson.

The highest-profile case of facial recognition leading to a wrongful arrest was also in Detroit, in the case of Robert Williams. Williams was arrested and detained for 30 hours in January 2020, after being accused of shoplifting from a Shinola watch store. He testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee, urging for legislators to adopt a moratorium on the technology introduced as legislation in June 2020.