In May 2019, San Francisco became the first city in the US to ban city use of facial recognition surveillance technology in order to help prevent abuse of the right to privacy. Under this legislation, city departments also need to disclose what surveillance technology they currently use — and seek approval from the Board of Supervisors on any new technology that either collects or stores someone’s data. Some critics have said that the city should have crafted regulation that acknowledges the potential benefits of the technology instead.