NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6776

Senate Bill S6776

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to prohibiting facial recognition technology to be used in connection with an officer camera

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to finance
Oct 11, 2019	referred to rules

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10913
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Add §§837-u & 234, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S1076, A1601
2023-2024: S3226, A3712

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits facial recognition technology to be used in connection with an officer camera used by both local and state police including the storage of biometric data.

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6776

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the executive law, in relation to
prohibiting facial recognition technology to be used in connection with
an officer camera; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon
expiration thereof

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill adds a new Section 837-u to the Executive Law, as
follows:

Subdivision 1 of Section 837-u defines the terms "biometric data",
"facial recognition or other biometric surveillance", "facial recogni-
tion system or biometric surveillance system", "police agency", "police
officer", "peace officer", "officer camera", "surveillance information",
and "use".

Subdivision 2 prohibits any police agency, police officer, or peace
officer from installing, activating, or using any facial recognition or
biometric surveillance system in connection with an officer camera or

data collected by an officer camera.

Subdivision 3 authorizes persons to bring actions for equitable or
declaratory relief in a court of competent jurisdiction against a police
agency, police officer, or peace officer that violates the prohibition
in subdivision 2.

Section 2 of the bill adds a new section 234 to the Executive Law to
implement an identical prohibition on installing, activating, or using
any facial recognition or biometric surveillance system in connection
with an officer camera or data collected by an officer camera by members
of the State Police.

Section 3 of this bill provides that the act shall take effect ninety
days after it shall have become a law and shall expire and be deemed
repealed five years after such date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As the use of facial recognition technology becomes increasingly common,
concerns have been raised by advocates for privacy and civil liberties
relating to the effectiveness and ethical implications of such technolo-
gy.

Significant evidence exists to suggest that facial recognition technolo-
gy is less accurate when analyzing faces of color than when analyzing
white faces. A 2018 study from MIT and Stanford University examining
commercially available facial analysis programs created by three major
companies found that the three programs' rates of error in determining
the gender of light-skinned men were never worse than 0.8%, but the
rates of error for dark-skinned women were significantly higher, with
two of the programs showing an error rate of more than 34%.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ran a test of another widely
available facial recognition tool by comparing photos of members of
Congress with a database of mugshots, and the software incorrectly
matched 28 members of Congress with individuals who had been arrested
for a crime. A disproportionate number of the incorrect matches were
people of color.

This evidence of bias and inaccuracy is particularly troubling in the
context of law enforcement, where an incorrect match has the potential
to have devastating consequences.

In June of 2019, Axon (formerly Taser), a major manufacturer of body-
worn cameras for police departments across the country including the
NYPD, publicly stated that they "will not be commercializing face match-
ing products" on their body cameras due to bias concerns, saying that
"face recognition technology is not currently reliable enough to
ethically justify its use on body-worn cameras." Axon added, "At the
least, face recognition technology should not be deployed until the
technology performs with far greater accuracy and performs equally well
across races, ethnicities, genders, and other identity groups."

Given the serious concerns that have been raised, New York's law
enforcement should not presently be permitted to deploy or rely on
demonstrably inaccurate, flawed technology as a policing tool that could
potentially lead to wrongful arrest or imprisonment.

This legislation, which is partly modeled after legislation that was
recently signed into law in California, would place a five-year prohibi-
tion on the use of any kind of facial recognition or biometric surveil-
lance system in connection with a body-worn camera or similar device by
law enforcement. This would ensure that New York has time to properly
evaluate the effectiveness of this technology and the restrictions that
should be placed on its use, if it is to be permitted in the future.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed 5 years after such
date.

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6776
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             October 11, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in  relation  to  prohibiting  facial
   recognition  technology  to  be  used  in  connection  with an officer
   camera; and providing for the repeal of such provisions  upon  expira-
   tion thereof

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, 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  FACIAL  RECOGNITION  IN CONNECTION WITH AN OFFICER
 CAMERA PROHIBITED. 1.  DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES  OF  THIS  SECTION,
 THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "BIOMETRIC  DATA" MEANS A PHYSIOLOGICAL, BIOLOGICAL OR BEHAVIORAL
 CHARACTERISTIC THAT CAN BE USED, SINGLY  OR  IN  COMBINATION  WITH  EACH
 OTHER OR WITH OTHER INFORMATION, TO ESTABLISH INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY.
   (B)  (I)  "FACIAL  RECOGNITION  OR OTHER BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE" MEANS
 EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION:
   (1) AN AUTOMATED OR SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESS BY WHICH A PERSON IS  IDEN-
 TIFIED  OR  ATTEMPTED  TO  BE IDENTIFIED BASED ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
 THEIR FACE OR BASED ON THEIR BIOMETRIC DATA, INCLUDING IDENTIFICATION OF
 KNOWN OR UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS; AND/OR
   (2) AN AUTOMATED OR SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESS THAT GENERATES, OR  ASSISTS
 IN GENERATING, SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL BASED ON THE
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S FACE OR BASED ON BIOMETRIC DATA.
   (II)  "FACIAL  RECOGNITION  OR OTHER BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE" SHALL NOT
 INCLUDE THE USE OF  AN  AUTOMATED  OR  SEMI-AUTOMATED  PROCESS  FOR  THE
 PURPOSE  OF  REDACTING  A  RECORDING FOR RELEASE OR DISCLOSURE OUTSIDE A
 POLICE AGENCY TO PROTECT THE  PRIVACY  OF  A  SUBJECT  DEPICTED  IN  THE
 RECORDING,  IF  THE PROCESS DOES NOT GENERATE OR RESULT IN THE RETENTION
 OF ANY BIOMETRIC DATA OR SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13977-01-9

 S. 6776                             2
 
   (C) "FACIAL RECOGNITION OR BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE  SYSTEM"  MEANS  ANY
 COMPUTER  SOFTWARE  OR  APPLICATION  THAT PERFORMS FACIAL RECOGNITION OR
 OTHER BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE.
   (D)  "POLICE  AGENCY", "POLICE OFFICER" AND "PEACE OFFICER" SHALL HAVE
 THE SAME MEANINGS AS DEFINED UNDER SECTION EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE  OF
 THIS ARTICLE.
   (E)  "OFFICER  CAMERA" MEANS A BODY-WORN CAMERA OR SIMILAR DEVICE THAT
 RECORDS OR TRANSMITS IMAGES OR SOUND AND IS  ATTACHED  TO  THE  BODY  OR
 CLOTHING OF, OR CARRIED BY, A POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER.
   (F) "SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION" MEANS EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING, ALONE OR
 IN COMBINATION:
   (I) ANY INFORMATION ABOUT A KNOWN OR UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL, INCLUDING BUT
 NOT LIMITED TO, A PERSON'S NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, GENDER OR CRIMINAL BACK-
 GROUND; AND/OR
   (II)  ANY  INFORMATION  DERIVED FROM BIOMETRIC DATA, INCLUDING BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO, ASSESSMENTS ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL'S SENTIMENT, STATE  OF  MIND
 OR LEVEL OF DANGEROUSNESS.
   (G) "USE" MEANS EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION:
   (I)  THE  DIRECT USE OF A FACIAL RECOGNITION OR BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE
 SYSTEM BY A POLICE AGENCY, POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER; AND/OR
   (II) A REQUEST BY A POLICE OFFICER OR  PEACE  OFFICER  THAT  A  POLICE
 AGENCY  OR  OTHER  THIRD  PARTY  USE  A  FACIAL RECOGNITION OR BIOMETRIC
 SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM ON BEHALF OF THE REQUESTING ENTITY.
   2. NO POLICE AGENCY, POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE  OFFICER  SHALL  INSTALL,
 ACTIVATE  OR USE ANY FACIAL RECOGNITION OR BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
 IN CONNECTION WITH AN OFFICER CAMERA OR DATA  COLLECTED  BY  AN  OFFICER
 CAMERA.
   3.  IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER SANCTIONS, PENALTIES OR REMEDIES PROVIDED
 BY LAW, A PERSON MAY BRING AN ACTION FOR EQUITABLE OR DECLARATORY RELIEF
 IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION AGAINST  A  POLICE  AGENCY,  POLICE
 OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER THAT VIOLATES THIS SECTION.
   4.  THIS  SECTION DOES NOT PRECLUDE A POLICE AGENCY, POLICE OFFICER OR
 PEACE OFFICER FROM USING A MOBILE FINGERPRINT SCANNING DEVICE  DURING  A
 LAWFUL  DETENTION  TO IDENTIFY A PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE PROOF OF IDEN-
 TIFICATION IF THIS USE IS LAWFUL AND DOES NOT GENERATE OR RESULT IN  THE
 RETENTION OF ANY BIOMETRIC DATA OR SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION.
   §  2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 234 to read
 as follows:
   § 234. USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION IN CONNECTION WITH AN OFFICER  CAMERA
 PROHIBITED.  1.    DEFINITIONS.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE
 FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "BIOMETRIC DATA" MEANS A PHYSIOLOGICAL, BIOLOGICAL  OR  BEHAVIORAL
 CHARACTERISTIC  THAT  CAN  BE  USED,  SINGLY OR IN COMBINATION WITH EACH
 OTHER OR WITH OTHER INFORMATION, TO ESTABLISH INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY.
   (B) (I) "FACIAL RECOGNITION OR  OTHER  BIOMETRIC  SURVEILLANCE"  MEANS
 EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION:
   (1)  AN AUTOMATED OR SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESS BY WHICH A PERSON IS IDEN-
 TIFIED OR ATTEMPTED TO BE IDENTIFIED BASED  ON  THE  CHARACTERISTICS  OF
 THEIR FACE OR BASED ON THEIR BIOMETRIC DATA, INCLUDING IDENTIFICATION OF
 KNOWN OR UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS; AND/OR
   (2)  AN AUTOMATED OR SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESS THAT GENERATES, OR ASSISTS
 IN GENERATING, SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL BASED ON THE
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S FACE OR BASED ON BIOMETRIC DATA.
   (II) "FACIAL RECOGNITION OR OTHER BIOMETRIC  SURVEILLANCE"  SHALL  NOT
 INCLUDE  THE  USE  OF  AN  AUTOMATED  OR  SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESS FOR THE
 PURPOSE OF REDACTING A RECORDING FOR RELEASE OR DISCLOSURE  OUTSIDE  THE

 S. 6776                             3
 
 DIVISION OF STATE POLICE TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF A SUBJECT DEPICTED IN
 THE  RECORDING,  IF  THE  PROCESS  DOES  NOT  GENERATE  OR RESULT IN THE
 RETENTION OF ANY BIOMETRIC DATA OR SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION.
   (C)  "FACIAL  RECOGNITION  OR BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM" MEANS ANY
 COMPUTER SOFTWARE OR APPLICATION THAT  PERFORMS  FACIAL  RECOGNITION  OR
 OTHER BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE.
   (D)  "OFFICER  CAMERA" MEANS A BODY-WORN CAMERA OR SIMILAR DEVICE THAT
 RECORDS OR TRANSMITS IMAGES OR SOUND AND IS  ATTACHED  TO  THE  BODY  OR
 CLOTHING OF, OR CARRIED BY, A MEMBER OF THE STATE POLICE.
   (E) "SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION" MEANS EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING, ALONE OR
 IN COMBINATION:
   (I) ANY INFORMATION ABOUT A KNOWN OR UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL, INCLUDING BUT
 NOT LIMITED TO, A PERSON'S NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, GENDER OR CRIMINAL BACK-
 GROUND; AND/OR
   (II)  ANY  INFORMATION  DERIVED FROM BIOMETRIC DATA, INCLUDING BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO, ASSESSMENTS ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL'S SENTIMENT, STATE  OF  MIND
 OR LEVEL OF DANGEROUSNESS.
   (F) "USE" MEANS EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION:
   (I)  THE  DIRECT USE OF A FACIAL RECOGNITION OR BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE
 SYSTEM BY A MEMBER OF THE STATE POLICE; AND/OR
   (II) A REQUEST BY A MEMBER OF THE STATE POLICE THAT A POLICE AGENCY OR
 OTHER THIRD PARTY USE A FACIAL  RECOGNITION  OR  BIOMETRIC  SURVEILLANCE
 SYSTEM ON BEHALF OF THE REQUESTING ENTITY.
   2.  NO  MEMBER  OF THE STATE POLICE SHALL INSTALL, ACTIVATE OR USE ANY
 FACIAL RECOGNITION OR BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM IN  CONNECTION  WITH
 AN OFFICER CAMERA OR DATA COLLECTED BY AN OFFICER CAMERA.
   3.  IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER SANCTIONS, PENALTIES OR REMEDIES PROVIDED
 BY LAW, A PERSON MAY BRING AN ACTION FOR EQUITABLE OR DECLARATORY RELIEF
 IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION  AGAINST  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  STATE
 POLICE THAT VIOLATES THIS SECTION.
   4.  THIS  SECTION  DOES NOT PRECLUDE A MEMBER OF THE STATE POLICE FROM
 USING A MOBILE FINGERPRINT SCANNING DEVICE DURING A LAWFUL DETENTION  TO
 IDENTIFY  A PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION IF THIS USE
 IS LAWFUL AND DOES NOT GENERATE OR RESULT IN THE RETENTION OF ANY BIOME-
 TRIC DATA OR SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have  become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed 5 years after
 such date.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S6776

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

co-Sponsors

Liz Krueger

Zellnor Myrie

Roxanne J. Persaud

Julia Salazar

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6776 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments