Title: Stop Biometric Surveillance by Law Enforcement Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Stop Biometric Surveillance by Law Enforcement Act
This bill prohibits federal law enforcement agencies, states and local governments, and high-risk urban areas from using facial recognition technology or other biometric surveillance systems on any image that is acquired by body-worn cameras used by law enforcement officers. The bill also includes enforcement provisions that require certain federal grants to be reduced for states, local governments, and high-risk urban areas that violate this restriction.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7235 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Biometric Surveillance by Law 
Enforcement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Facial recognition and other 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 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 biometric surveillance 
        technology has been repeatedly demonstrated to misidentify 
        women, young people, and people of color and to create an 
        elevated risk of harmful ``false positive'' identifications.
            (5) Facial and other 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 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.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITING USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER 
              BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS.

    (a) Byrne Grant.--
            (1) Prohibition.--A State or unit of local government may 
        not use facial recognition technology or other biometric 
        surveillance systems on any image acquired by body-worn cameras 
        of law enforcement officers.
            (2) Enforcement.--In the case that a State or unit of local 
        government violates paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall 
        reduce by 5 percent the amount that the State or unit of local 
        government would have otherwise received under subpart 1 of 
        part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
        Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.).
            (3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated to a State or unit 
        of local government that violates paragraph (1) shall be 
        reallocated, in accordance with subpart 1 of part E of title I 
        of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
        U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), to States and units of local government 
        that have complied with such paragraph (1).
    (b) Urban Area Security Initiative Grant.--
            (1) Prohibition.--A high-risk urban area may not use facial 
        recognition technology or other biometric surveillance systems 
        on any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement 
        officers.
            (2) Enforcement.--In the case that a high-risk urban area 
        violates paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency shall reduce by 5 percent the 
        amount that the high-risk urban area would have otherwise 
        received under section 2003 of the Homeland Security Act of 
        2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.).
            (3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated to a high-risk 
        urban area that violates paragraph (1) shall be reallocated, in 
        accordance with section 2003 of the Homeland Security Act of 
        2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.), to high-risk urban areas that have 
        complied with such paragraph (1).
    (c) State Homeland Security Grant.--
            (1) Prohibition.--A State may not use facial recognition 
        technology or other biometric surveillance systems on any image 
        acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers.
            (2) Enforcement.--In the case that a State violates 
        paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency shall reduce by 5 percent the amount that the 
        high-risk urban area would have otherwise received under 
        section 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 
        et seq.).
            (3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated to a State that 
        violates paragraph (1) shall be reallocated, in accordance with 
        section 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 
        et seq.), to States that have complied with such paragraph (1).
    (d) Federal Prohibition.--A Federal law enforcement agency may not 
use facial recognition technology or other biometric surveillance 
systems on any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement 
officers.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Biometric data.--The term ``biometric data'' means a 
        physiological, biological, or behavioral characteristic that 
        can be used, singly or in combination with each other or with 
        other information, to establish individual identity.
            (2) Biometic surveillance system.--The term ``biometric 
        surveillance system'' means any computer software or 
        application that performs facial recognition or other biometric 
        surveillance.
            (3) Body-worn camera.--The term ``body-worn camera'' means 
        an officer camera or similar device that records or transmits 
        images or sound and is attached to the body or clothing of, or 
        carried by, a law enforcement officer.
            (4) Facial recognition technology or other biometric 
        surveillance.--The term ``facial recognition technology or 
        other biometric surveillance''--
                    (A) means an automated or semiautomated process 
                that--
                            (i) captures or analyzes biometric data of 
                        an individual to identify or assist in 
                        identifying an individual; or
                            (ii) generates, or assists in generating, 
                        surveillance information about an individual 
                        based on biometric data; and
                    (B) does not include the use of an automated or 
                semiautomated process for the purpose of redacting a 
                recording for release or disclosure outside the law 
                enforcement agency to protect the privacy of a subject 
                depicted in the recording, if the process does not 
                generate or result in the retention of any biometric 
                data or surveillance information.
            (5) Use.--The term ``use'' means one or both of the 
        following:
                    (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.
                                 <all>