Security News > 2020 > August > Senate Bill Would Expand Facial-Recognition Restrictions Nationwide

A bill making its way through the U.S. Senate aims to extend nationwide some of the restrictions on the collection of facial-recognition information already imposed by an Illinois state law, as well as expand private citizens' legal powers to sue companies that violate them.

The proposed national law would also require that a company acquires written consent before recording anyone's biometric data, and provides both private citizens and state attorneys general to sue companies that violate these terms.

NBC affiliate WTVJ reported that Miami police used Clearview AI to identify and arrest a woman for allegedly throwing a rock at a police officer; Columbia, S.C. police reportedly used it to arrest several protesters long after the event, according to local paper The State; Philadelphia P.D. use it to identify protestors from photos posted to Instagram, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer; and Gothamist reported that NYPD officers raided the apartment of someone who allegedly shouted in an officer's ear during a protest, after identifying the person with facial recognition.

Merkley already was part of a push by federal lawmakers to ban the use of facial-recognition technology altogether by law enforcement nationwide through the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, proposed by Merkley alongside fellow Democratic lawmakers Sen. Ed Markey and Reps.

Facebook already had to shell out $550 million to settle a class-action suit filed under the BIPA concerning the social-media giant's alleged scanning of facial biometrics without people's consent when the company introduced its "Tag suggestions" feature.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/senate-bill-expand-facial-recognition-restrictions-nationwide/158509/