NY State Senate Bill 2021-S73

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary 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 05, 2022	referred to judiciary
Jan 06, 2021	referred to judiciary

co-Sponsors

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4352
Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Real Property Law
Laws Affected:: Add §235-i, RP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S5687, A7790
2023-2024: S2478, A322

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the use of a facial recognition system by a landlord on any residential premises.

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S73

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the real property law, in relation to prohibiting the
use of a facial recognition system by a landlord on any residential
premises

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill adds a new Section 235-H to the Real Property Law
to define the terms "facial recognition" and "facial recognition system"
and provide that it shall be unlawful for any landlord to obtain,
retain, access, or use, on any residential premises, any facial recogni-
tion system or - information obtained from or by the use of a facial
recognition system.  The new Section 235-H would give the Attorney
General the authority to seek an injunction for violations of this
section, and authorize a court to impose a civil penalty of not more
than ten thousand dollars for such violations.  The new Section 235-H
would also authorize a private right of action for those unlawfully
subjected to facial recognition, and requires courts to award costs and

reasonable attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs.

Section 2 of this bill establishes the effective 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%.  We have
seen several recent examples in New York of landlords seeking to install
facial recognition technology in residential buildings as an alternative
to a traditional key or passcode system. Residents of the Atlantic Plaza
Towers in Brownsville, Brooklyn recently filed their opposition with New
York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) against the owner's plan to
install a facial recognition system in the development.

In addition, the proliferation of such technology for residential use
raises troubling concerns about mass surveillance and tracking capabili-
ty, in an era where there are already cameras on every block, especially
in urban areas. Facial recognition systems would give landlords the
ability to track, at the very least, every entry and exit of their
tenants and guests. The potential for misuse of this information by
landlords is high, particularly those looking to intimidate or drive out
longtime tenants of rent-regulated housing.  Landlords already wield
significant power over tenants by controlling their access to stable
housing. Installing a facial recognition system on a residential prem-
ises and then requiring tenants to consent to the use of such system to
remain in the building is tantamount to evicting those who object to
having their sensitive personal data stored and used by a landlord.

We already have an affordable housing crisis in New York State. We
should not be further restricting access to housing for tenants who are
concerned about the security of their personal data. Given the substan-
tive issues raised about the ethics and security of facial recognition
technology, New York should prohibit its use on residential premises.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.5687 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Judiciary A.7790 of 2019-2020
(Walker): Died in Housing

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    73
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation  to  prohibiting  the
   use  of  a  facial recognition system by a landlord on any residential
   premises

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The  real property law is amended by adding a new section
 235-i to read as follows:
   § 235-I. UNLAWFUL USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEM. 1. AS USED IN THIS
 SECTION:
   (A) "FACIAL RECOGNITION" MEANS BOTH:
   (1) THE AUTOMATED OR SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESS BY WHICH A PERSON IS IDEN-
 TIFIED OR ATTEMPTED TO BE IDENTIFIED BASED  ON  THE  CHARACTERISTICS  OF
 THEIR  FACE, INCLUDING IDENTIFICATION OF KNOWN OR UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS OR
 GROUPS; AND
   (2) THE AUTOMATED OR SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESS BY  WHICH  THE  CHARACTER-
 ISTICS  OF  AN  INDIVIDUAL'S FACE ARE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE THE INDIVID-
 UAL'S SENTIMENT, STATE OF MIND, OR OTHER PROPENSITIES INCLUDING BUT  NOT
 LIMITED TO LEVEL OF DANGEROUSNESS.
   (B)  "FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEM" MEANS ANY COMPUTER SOFTWARE OR APPLI-
 CATION THAT PERFORMS FACIAL RECOGNITION.
   2. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LAW, RULE OR REGULATION TO THE CONTRARY, IT  IS
 UNLAWFUL  FOR  ANY  LANDLORD  TO  OBTAIN, RETAIN, ACCESS, OR USE, ON ANY
 RESIDENTIAL PREMISES:
   (A) ANY FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEM; OR
   (B) ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OR BY USE OF  A  FACIAL  RECOGNITION
 SYSTEM.
   3.  (A) WHEREVER THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, AN APPLI-
 CATION MAY BE MADE BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE  OF

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02643-01-1

 S. 73                               2
 
 THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE HAVING JURISDICTION TO ISSUE
 AN  INJUNCTION,  AND  UPON NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT OF NOT LESS THAN FIVE
 DAYS, TO ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN THE CONTINUANCE OF SUCH VIOLATIONS; AND  IF
 IT  SHALL  APPEAR  TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE COURT OR JUSTICE, THAT THE
 DEFENDANT HAS, IN FACT, VIOLATED  THIS  SECTION  AN  INJUNCTION  MAY  BE
 ISSUED  BY  SUCH  COURT OR JUSTICE ENJOINING AND RESTRAINING ANY FURTHER
 VIOLATION, WITHOUT REQUIRING PROOF THAT ANY PERSON HAS,  IN  FACT,  BEEN
 INJURED  OR  DAMAGED THEREBY. IN ANY SUCH PROCEEDING, THE COURT MAY MAKE
 ALLOWANCES TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL  AS  PROVIDED  IN  PARAGRAPH  SIX  OF
 SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION EIGHTY-THREE HUNDRED THREE OF THE CIVIL PRAC-
 TICE  LAW  AND  RULES, AND DIRECT RESTITUTION.  WHENEVER THE COURT SHALL
 DETERMINE THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION HAS OCCURRED, THE  COURT  MAY
 IMPOSE  A  CIVIL  PENALTY  OF  NOT  MORE  THAN  TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. IN
 CONNECTION WITH ANY SUCH PROPOSED APPLICATION, THE ATTORNEY  GENERAL  IS
 AUTHORIZED  TO TAKE PROOF AND MAKE A DETERMINATION OF THE RELEVANT FACTS
 AND TO ISSUE SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE  CIVIL  PRACTICE  LAW  AND
 RULES.
   (B) IN ADDITION TO THE RIGHT OF ACTION GRANTED TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 PURSUANT  TO  THIS  SECTION, ANY PERSON WHO HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO FACIAL
 RECOGNITION IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, OR ABOUT WHOM INFORMATION  HAS
 BEEN OBTAINED, RETAINED, ACCESSED, OR USED IN VIOLATION OF THIS CHAPTER,
 MAY BRING AN ACTION IN ANY COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION:
   (1) TO ENJOIN SUCH VIOLATION; AND
   (2)  TO  RECOVER ACTUAL DAMAGES, OR TO RECEIVE ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS IN
 DAMAGES FOR SUCH VIOLATION, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
   (C) A COURT SHALL AWARD COSTS AND  REASONABLE  ATTORNEYS'  FEES  TO  A
 PLAINTIFF  WHO  IS THE PREVAILING PARTY IN AN ACTION BROUGHT UNDER PARA-
 GRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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 S73

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

co-Sponsors

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S73

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

co-Sponsors

Jabari Brisport

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S73 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments