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ORWELL INDEX

Who uses facial recognition in Washington County?

What we do not know

Washington Co. Sheriff (OR)

  • What was retained from three years of use, and what was destroyed. The statement ends the program and says nothing about the data.
  • Whether any case outcomes rested on identifications the system assisted.

What facial recognition is

Software that measures a face in an image and searches for a match in a database of known faces. It can be run on live camera feeds or on recorded footage after the fact.

How they work, why agencies buy them, and every county we have documented →

What you can do

Civic action

Show up

This technology is bought and renewed by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Washington County.

Go to the Washington County hub →

Personal protection

Protect yourself

Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.

Surveillance Self-Defense ↗