Face recognition system: Black American claims wrongful arrest

WASHINGTON: An African-American man has filed a complaint against the Detroit police department alleging he was wrongfully arrested on the basis of a flawed facial recognition algorithm.

The American Civil Liberties Union, representing Robert Williams, said Wednesday it was the first known case of an unlawful arrest based on face recognition technology, which according to critics is often inaccurate in distinguishing faces of blacks.

"Though Robert Williams may be the first known case, he is likely not the first person who was wrongfully arrested and interrogated based off a bogus face recognition hit," the ACLU said on Twitter.

Williams wrote in the Washington Post he was arrested in January outside his home and held for 30 hours, later learning he was wrongly identified based on surveillance footage from a robbery at a watch store.