The Oakland city council voted last night to pass an ordinance banning city agencies from using facial recognition technology. The move sets up Oakland to become the third city in the United States to pass similar legislation.

Ordinance passed unanimously

Under the ordinance, which passed unanimously, municipal agencies, including city police, will be banned from obtaining or using the controversial technology. The city joins neighboring San Francisco, as well as Somerville, Massachusetts, which both passed similar legislation earlier this year. The Oakland City Council will take a second vote on the ordinance in September, but it is seen as procedural.

The legislation has been pressed by civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union. In a statement, Matt Cagle, technology and civil liberties attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, described the vote as a win for city accountability. “These decisions should be made as Somerville, San Francisco, and now Oakland just made: by the public, including the communities that will be most impacted, through an affirmative vote by their elected representatives,” Cagle said.

Facial recognition tools have triggered widespread concern, both among advocates and many lawmakers, over their potential for abuse. Privacy advocates have questioned whether the technology will lead to an era of ubiquitous public surveillance, and experts have noted that the tools are especially prone to misidentifying people of color. Major companies like Amazon, meanwhile, have opted to continue selling the technology to law enforcement, despite criticism from experts and even some employees.

Still, despite the recent city-level bans, federal legislation has been elusive. Last week, House lawmakers held a hearing on facial recognition, but there was little agreement on potential regulation.