#BanTheScan In The Empire State.

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Friend,

Last week, we joined 20 fellow civil rights groups in launching our second legislative advocacy campaign to ban facial recognition, this time in New York State. Submitting a sign-on letter to the New York State Assembly and Senate, the Ban The Scan coalition is demanding the passage of four bills banning the use of facial recognition and other biometric technologies in law enforcement, residential buildings, public accommodations, and schools in New York State.

Facial recognition has already been gaining attention from lawmakers in Albany. A provision of the recently passed state budget included a ban on MTA’s use of facial recognition for fare enforcement on the New York City Subway, which S.T.O.P. celebrated as a major win for the coalition. But we must keep the momentum going! In March, New York State announced funding for a pilot program to install facial recognition at New York City bodegas in Uptown Manhattan and the Bronx. And the recent hack of facial recognition company Outabox confirms the privacy disaster we’ve been warning about, exposing the data of close to a million people in one breach.

Facial recognition routinely makes errors in identifying people of color, especially Black women, and it has no place in our state. The MTA ban shows some lawmakers are already aware that it’s more magical thinking than objective tech. It’s time to recognize the urgent threat it poses in other contexts. Spread the word using our social media toolkit and visit banthescan.org to find out how you can help #BanTheScan!

In solidarity,
Nina Loshkajian
Staff Attorney

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NewsletterLeticia MurilloMay 7, 2024