Facial Recognition Ban on Body Cameras Act

To prohibit use of facial recognition technology on any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Facial Recognition Ban on Body Cameras Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Facial recognition and other remote biometric surveillance technology pose unique and significant threats to the civil rights and civil liberties of residents and visitors. (2) The use of facial recognition and other remote biometric surveillance is the functional equivalent of requiring every person to show a personal photo identification card at all times in violation of recognized constitutional rights. This technology also allows people to be tracked without consent. (3) It would also generate massive databases about law-abiding Americans, and may chill the exercise of free speech in public places. (4) Facial recognition and other remote biometric surveillance technology has been repeatedly demonstrated to misidentify women, young people, people with disabilities, transgender people, and people of color and to create an elevated risk of harmful “false positive” identifications. (5) Facial and other remote biometric surveillance would corrupt the core purpose of officer-worn body-worn cameras by transforming those devices from transparency and accountability tools into roving surveillance systems. (6) The use of facial recognition and other remote biometric surveillance would disproportionately impact the civil rights and civil liberties of persons who live in highly policed communities. (7) Its use would also diminish effective policing and public safety by discouraging people in these communities, including victims of crime, undocumented persons, people with unpaid fines and fees, and those with prior criminal history from seeking police assistance or from assisting the police. 3. Prohibiting use of facial recognition technology and other remote biometric surveillance systems (a) Federal Financial Assistance Beginning on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, a State or unit of local government is ineligible to receive Federal financial assistance under the Byrne grant program under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 unless the State or unit of local government is complying with a law or policy that is substantially similar to the prohibition set forth in section 4. (b) Rule of Construction Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt or supersede any Federal, State, or local law that imposes a more stringent limitation than the prohibition set forth in section 4. 4. Federal prohibition A Federal law enforcement agency may not use facial recognition technology or other remote biometric surveillance systems on any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers. 5. Definitions In this Act: (1) Biometic surveillance system The term biometric surveillance system (2) Body-worn camera The term body-worn camera (3) Facial recognition The term facial recognition (A) assists in identifying an individual, capturing information about an individual, or otherwise generating or assisting in generating surveillance information about an individual based on the physical characteristics of the individual’s face; or (B) logs characteristics of an individual’s face, head, or body to infer emotion, associations, activities, or the location of an individual. (4) Other remote biometric recognition The term other remote biometric recognition (A) means an automated or semi-automated process that— (i) assists in identifying an individual, capturing information about an individual, or otherwise generating or assisting in generating surveillance information about an individual based on the characteristics of the individual’s gait or other immutable characteristic ascertained from a distance; (ii) uses voice recognition technology; or (iii) logs such characteristics to infer emotion, associations, activities, or the location of an individual; and (B) does not include identification based on fingerprints or palm prints. (5) Use The term use (A) The direct use of a biometric surveillance system by a law enforcement officer or a law enforcement agency. (B) A request or agreement by a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency that another law enforcement agency or other third party use a biometric surveillance system on behalf of the requesting officer or agency.

Summary: Facial Recognition Ban on Body Cameras Act This bill establishes a framework to prohibit federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition technology on images captured by body-worn cameras. Specifically, the bill prohibits federal law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition technology or other remote biometric surveillance systems on any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers. Additionally, the bill requires state and local governments to comply with a similar law or policy as a condition of receiving funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.