For Immediate Release
Electeds, Advocates Rally Against Facial Recognition Ahead Of City Council Hearing On Bans
(NEW YORK, NY, 5/3/2023) – Today, elected officials and civil rights groups rallied against facial recognition and other biometric surveillance in New York City Hall Park ahead of a City Council hearing on proposed bans. The New York City Council Technology and Civil and Human Rights Committees discussed two proposed city laws, one banning biometric surveillance in residential buildings, and one banning the technology in places of public accommodation, such as stores and sports arenas. The Ban The Scan and Privacy New York coalitions worked for more than two years to bring forward the legislation. Advocates and lawmakers called on the City Council to pass not only the two bills debated today, but to also introduce a long-delayed ban on government use of biometric surveillance.
SEE: Photos and Videos of Press Conference and Rally
https://web.tresorit.com/l/hzr3j#WzLSOhGoIyYjFiDHZRlZbw
Full Text – NYC Ban on Biometric Surveillance in Public Accommodations
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6166887&GUID=F171CD59-3CB3-4C33-B701-C801E9C0A71C
Full Text – NYC Ban on Residential Biometric Surveillance
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6166886&GUID=15909624-31F4-43F2-A7FB-B3DECAE9273D
“New Yorkers deserve to be safe from facial recognition at home and in stores,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “This technology is biased, it’s error-prone, and when it does work, it’s a threat to the public. Already, we see how the rich and powerful can use facial recognition to retaliate against those they dislike. CEOs can arbitrarily ban New Yorkers from their business using the technology. Landlords can use the tech to target rent stabilized tenants and tenant organizers. And this technology is likely to get Black and Latinx New Yorkers banned or evicted when it makes a mistake. The only way to regulate facial recognition is to ban it. Not only does New York need to ban facial recognition in stores and our homes, it also needs to move forward legislation to ban police abuse of this technology.”
“Whether in their homes, patronizing local businesses, or accessing health care, New Yorkers deserve privacy and safety,” said Daniel Schwarz, Senior Privacy & Technology Strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Right now, law enforcement, private companies, and other government agencies use highly flawed, racially biased facial recognition technologies with free rein. To ensure that New Yorkers don’t live in a world where biometric surveillance constantly watches, tracks, and monitors their every move, the City Council must take action and ban the use of this invasive technology.”
“More landlords are implementing technological solutions to enhance amenities and security for residents, but facial recognition and biometric identifier systems open the door for discrimination and harassment that has a disproportionate impact on already vulnerable residents. Data has shown that user misidentification is common, and the increased presence of surveillance can be misused by bad actors. There is a gap in the regulatory framework, and governments must establish safeguards that ensure equity of access and that these systems are not used to harass, evict, or criminalize tenants,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-02). “With colleagues and advocates, I have introduced legislation to limit the use of facial recognition technology in residential buildings to ensure New Yorkers do not have their rights violated, and are not excluded or discriminated against.”
“The age of mass incarceration has morphed into the age of mass surveillance with the advent of facial recognition technology (FRT) and other biometric technology disproportionately impacting BIPOC communities,” said Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law, NYU School of Law Director Jason Williamson. “Policy proposals in front of the NYC Council would ban the use of FRT by NYC landlords and businesses. We support this limitation on the use of FRT to protect Black and Brown communities in NYC from unnecessary and harmful surveillance.”
“Biometric surveillance technologies are a monumental threat to democracy and to people’s rights and security, not only their privacy,” said Surveillance Resistance Lab Senior Researcher & Organizer Alli Finn. “Corporations and government agencies are increasingly using facial recognition and other biometrics technologies to criminalize poverty, facilitate mass arrests and incarceration, surveil social movements, target immigrants for deportation, and justify denying people basic rights. Regulation alone is not enough, we must ban their use. We urge the City Council to take this opportunity to protect our communities, not corporate and carceral interests.”
“We have two bills in place that are a strong start, and the City Council must pass them,” said National Action Network Crisis Director & NYS Field Director Derek Perkinson. “However, we must go further in implementing a full ban on police and government use of facial recognition in New York City. Facial recognition and biometric surveillance disproportionately target BIPOC, immigrant, and Muslim New Yorkers. It is time for NYC to catch up to other cities around the country that have already banned facial recognition, such as Boston, San Francisco, and Portland.”
“Right now New York City has the opportunity to join Portland, Oregon, in passing groundbreaking legislation that protects everyday people from the dangers of facial recognition technology,” said Leila Nashashibi, Campaigner at Fight for the Future. “Facial recognition gives companies and government agencies unprecedented power to automatically track us without our consent – recording where we go and who we know. Not only is this a massive invasion of privacy, it also supercharges policing and incarceration systems that target Black people, poor people, immigrants, activists, women, and LGBTQ people. In New York, we've seen how in the hands of rich individuals like James Dolan, facial recognition can be abused for profit and power. It’s just a matter of time before this powerful technology becomes the tool of choice for anti-rights activists and other individuals seeking to terrorize and harm people, such as anti-abortion extremists camped out in front of abortion clinics. By passing legislation restricting the use of facial recognition, New York City will stand out among cities globally as a champion for privacy, bodily autonomy, and human rights, not surveillance and profit.”
SEE: Press Release – S.T.O.P. Celebrates Intro of 2 NYC Facial Recognition Bans
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/4/12/stop-celebrates-intro-of-2-nyc-facial-recognition-bans
S.T.O.P. – Ban The Scan
https://www.stopspying.org/ban-the-scan
The bans’ introduction comes after multiple controversies over the use of facial recognition by venues owned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, and a class action lawsuit S.T.O.P. filed in March claiming that Amazon illegally failed to notify customers that Amazon Go stores in New York City collect biometric data.
SEE: Press Release – Class Action Claims Amazon Illegally Hid Its Biometric Surveillance from Go Store Customers in NYC
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/3/16/class-action-claims-amazon-illegally-hid-its-biometric-surveillance-from-go-store-customers-in-nyc
Press Release – S.T.O.P. Condemns MSG CEO for Doubling Down on Facial Recognition
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/1/27/stop-condemns-msg-ceo-for-doubling-down-on-facial-recognition
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.
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CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn
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