Maryland lawmakers consider police use of facial recognition technology, decriminalization of drug paraphernalia

Police in Maryland would be barred from using facial recognition technology in certain circumstances under a bill lawmakers considered in a state House committee hearing Tuesday. The bill would be the first successful attempt to regulate the use of facial recognition technology for law enforcement at a statewide level in Maryland. Public defenders and prosecutors alike told lawmakers they believe some restrictions should be enacted, though they disagree how far those restrictions should go. “This is a very complicated topic,” said Del. David Moon, a Montgomery County Democrat who sponsored the House version of the bill. He suggested during a House Judiciary Committee hearing that it was better for everyone to get together on some rules, “rather than have nothing whatsoever.”