Our next tech battlefield: facial recognition.

Technology brings amazing possibilities – and new concerns.

We know Russia interfered with our elections. We know many others are trying to gain access to the United States' critical systems. In our world, data breaches are all too common – it seems every week, a new revelation comes out from a company regretting to inform us that our private information has become accessible.

We must ensure that our technological advancement doesn't come at the cost of our privacy or our security.

What seemed like science fiction is now a feature of our handheld devices. Many phones can "recognize" our faces. The potential for abuse of facial recognition data is staggering.

As these technologies grow in availability and accuracy, possible law enforcement uses also increase. There's also significant risk of racial and gender bias and the compromising of Americans' fundamental right to privacy.

Recently, Senators Cory Booker and Ed Markey and I called for dozens of federal law-enforcement agencies to report their use of facial recognition technology and what policies, if any, they have to prevent abuse and misuse.

It's one step to ensure that our government is leading the way in accountability and transparency.

We can and will embrace the promise of the future while safeguarding our American values of privacy and dignity.

Ron