I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7235 

To prohibit use of facial recognition technology on any image acquired by 

body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2020 

Mr. BEYER (for himself, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HECK, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. RASKIN, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 

Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prohibit use of facial recognition technology on any image 

acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Biometric Sur5 veillance by Law Enforcement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Facial recognition and other biometric sur2 veillance technology pose unique and significant 

3 threats to the civil rights and civil liberties of resi4 dents and visitors. 

5 (2) The use of facial recognition and other bio6 metric surveillance is the functional equivalent of re7 quiring every person to show a personal photo iden8 tification card at all times in violation of recognized 

9 constitutional rights. This technology also allows 

10 people to be tracked without consent. 

11 (3) It would also generate massive databases 

12 about law-abiding Americans, and may chill the ex13 ercise of free speech in public places. 

14 (4) Facial recognition and other biometric sur15 veillance technology has been repeatedly dem16 onstrated to misidentify women, young people, and 

17 people of color and to create an elevated risk of 

18 harmful ‘‘false positive’’ identifications. 

19 (5) Facial and other biometric surveillance 

20 would corrupt the core purpose of officer-worn body21 worn cameras by transforming those devices from 

22 transparency and accountability tools into roving 

23 surveillance systems. 

24 (6) The use of facial recognition and other bio25 metric surveillance would disproportionately impact 


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1 the civil rights and civil liberties of persons who live 

2 in highly policed communities. 

3 (7) Its use would also diminish effective polic4 ing and public safety by discouraging people in these 

5 communities, including victims of crime, undocu6 mented persons, people with unpaid fines and fees, 

7 and those with prior criminal history from seeking 

8 police assistance or from assisting the police. 

9 SEC. 3. PROHIBITING USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION TECH10 NOLOGY AND OTHER BIOMETRIC SURVEIL11 LANCE SYSTEMS. 

12 (a) BYRNE GRANT.— 

13 (1) PROHIBITION.—A State or unit of local 

14 government may not use facial recognition tech15 nology or other biometric surveillance systems on 

16 any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law en17 forcement officers. 

18 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case that a State 

19 or unit of local government violates paragraph (1), 

20 the Attorney General shall reduce by 5 percent the 

21 amount that the State or unit of local government 

22 would have otherwise received under subpart 1 of 

23 part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

24 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.). 


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1 (3) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated to 

2 a State or unit of local government that violates 

3 paragraph (1) shall be reallocated, in accordance 

4 with subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus 

5 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

6 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), to States and units of local 

7 government that have complied with such paragraph 

8 (1). 

9 (b) URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE GRANT.— 

10 (1) PROHIBITION.—A high-risk urban area may 

11 not use facial recognition technology or other bio12 metric surveillance systems on any image acquired 

13 by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers. 

14 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case that a high15 risk urban area violates paragraph (1), the Adminis16 trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen17 cy shall reduce by 5 percent the amount that the 

18 high-risk urban area would have otherwise received 

19 under section 2003 of the Homeland Security Act of 

20 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.). 

21 (3) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated to 

22 a high-risk urban area that violates paragraph (1) 

23 shall be reallocated, in accordance with section 2003 

24 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 


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1 101 et seq.), to high-risk urban areas that have com2 plied with such paragraph (1). 

3 (c) STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT.— 

4 (1) PROHIBITION.—A State may not use facial 

5 recognition technology or other biometric surveil6 lance systems on any image acquired by body-worn 

7 cameras of law enforcement officers. 

8 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case that a State 

9 violates paragraph (1), the Administrator of the 

10 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall re11 duce by 5 percent the amount that the high-risk 

12 urban area would have otherwise received under sec13 tion 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

14 U.S.C. 101 et seq.). 

15 (3) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated to 

16 a State that violates paragraph (1) shall be reallo17 cated, in accordance with section 2004 of the Home18 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.), to 

19 States that have complied with such paragraph (1). 

20 (d) FEDERAL PROHIBITION.—A Federal law enforce21 ment agency may not use facial recognition technology or 

22 other biometric surveillance systems on any image ac23 quired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers. 

24 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) BIOMETRIC DATA.—The term ‘‘biometric 

2 data’’ means a physiological, biological, or behavioral 

3 characteristic that can be used, singly or in combina4 tion with each other or with other information, to es5 tablish individual identity. 

6 (2) BIOMETIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM.—The 

7 term ‘‘biometric surveillance system’’ means any 

8 computer software or application that performs fa9 cial recognition or other biometric surveillance. 

10 (3) BODY-WORN CAMERA.—The term ‘‘body11 worn camera’’ means an officer camera or similar 

12 device that records or transmits images or sound 

13 and is attached to the body or clothing of, or carried 

14 by, a law enforcement officer. 

15 (4) FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY OR

16 OTHER BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE.—The term ‘‘fa17 cial recognition technology or other biometric sur18 veillance’’— 

19 (A) means an automated or semiautomated 

20 process that— 

21 (i) captures or analyzes biometric data 

22 of an individual to identify or assist in 

23 identifying an individual; or 


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1 (ii) generates, or assists in generating, 

2 surveillance information about an indi3 vidual based on biometric data; and 

4 (B) does not include the use of an auto5 mated or semiautomated process for the pur6 pose of redacting a recording for release or dis7 closure outside the law enforcement agency to 

8 protect the privacy of a subject depicted in the 

9 recording, if the process does not generate or 

10 result in the retention of any biometric data or 

11 surveillance information. 

12 (5) USE.—The term ‘‘use’’ means one or both 

13 of the following: 

14 (A) The direct use of a biometric surveil15 lance system by a law enforcement officer or a 

16 law enforcement agency. 

17 (B) A request or agreement by a law en18 forcement officer or law enforcement agency 

19 that another law enforcement agency or other 

20 third party use a biometric surveillance system 

21 on behalf of the requesting officer or agency. 

Æ 


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