What's happening
This bill prohibits law enforcement from using biometric technology, like facial recognition, as the sole basis for probable cause, requiring written policies and penalties for noncompliance.
Why it matters
Protects individual rights. by preventing law enforcement from using biometric technologies—such as facial recognition, fingerprints, or voice analysis—as the only reason to justify an arrest or detention, addressing concerns about wrongful identification and privacy.
Mandates transparency and accountability. , requiring every police agency in the state to establish a written policy against stopping, detaining, or searching people solely based on biometric data, which may reduce arbitrary or biased policing practices.
Introduces enforcement mechanisms. by authorizing the state to withhold funding from police departments or agencies that fail to adopt or follow these policies, giving the law real consequences and incentivizing compliance.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Face Recognition Arrests
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
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History
- Referred to governmental operations
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
10411
IN ASSEMBLY
May 4, 2020
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the use of facial recognition and biometric information for determining probable cause
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-u to read as follows:
§ 837-u. Use of biometric identifying technology. 1. As used in this section:
(a) "Biometric identifying technology" shall mean any computer software, algorithm, product, or application that collects or electronically analyzes biometric information for the purposes of identifying an individual, including but not limited to facial recognition.
(b) "Biometric information" shall mean any measurable physical or behavioral characteristics that are attributable to an individual person, including but not limited to facial characteristics, fingerprint characteristics, hand characteristics, eye characteristics, vocal characteristics, and any other physical characteristics that can be used to identify a person including, but not limited to: fingerprints; handprints; retina and iris patterns; DNA sequence; voice; gait; and facial geometry.
(c) "Facial recognition" shall mean a biometric application or biometric identifying technology capable of uniquely identifying or verifying a person by comparing and analyzing patterns based on the person's facial contours.
2. Biometric identifying technology shall not be the sole factor in determining the existence of probable cause to place in custody or arrest an individual.
3. Not later than January first, two thousand twenty-one, each municipal police department, sheriff's office, and the division of state police shall adopt a written policy that prohibits the stopping, detention or search of any person when such action is solely motivated by biometric identifying technology.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14216-01-9
A. 10411 2
4. If a municipal police department, sheriff's office, or the division of state police fails to comply with the provisions of this section, the division of criminal justice services shall order an appropriate penalty in the form of the withholding of state funds from such municipal police department, sheriff's office or the division of state police.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.