But because these and similar biometric screening technologies are becoming more prevalent around the country, they’re taking action to stop them from becoming a civil rights threat in Syracuse.
The Common Council on Monday unanimously approved a local law banning facial recognition at establishments open to the public. Syracuse would be the second municipality in the state with such a law.
Modeled after a proposed statewide ban introduced by state Sen. Rachel May, D-Syracuse, the Syracuse measure now goes to Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens. She must hold a public hearing on the law before deciding whether to sign. If she objects, the council can override with a two-third majority.
Councilors Corey Williams, Jimmy Monto and Chol Majok co-sponsored the proposal. Williams and Monto first put the measure on a council agenda in mid-April, and formally introduced the final version of the law earlier this month.
Both said Monday that they have not heard from any constituents or businesses opposing the city’s ban. Last week, the council held a committee meeting to discuss their proposal with New York Civil Liberties Union’s Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology expert who serves on the city’s surveillance technology task force. He said the NYCLU supports the city’s legislation as an important privacy protection.
Businesses using these technologies say they are an emerging safety tool, but critics point to flaws in the technology that include high error rates in identifying people.
“We know that algorithms used to identify individuals have a hard time with people who are young, people who are old, persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community,” Williams said just before Monday’s vote. “In many ways, these are the descriptors of our city. The misidentification of these individuals opens them up to greater levels of harm.”
Applause broke out in the council chambers following the vote.
In addition to facial recognition tools, the Syracuse law would prohibit the use of technology that scans and attempts to identify people based on physical characteristics such as fingerprints, iris or retina patterns, voice, gait and DNA sequence.
If the ban becomes city law, Syracuse would be the second municipality in New York to enact a ban, following Erie County, which approved a ban at the end of last month.
Enforcement of the Syracuse law would be via civil litigation; it is not a criminal law that police would enforce. People who are illegally surveilled could sue for damages and fines starting at $1,000 per incident.
The Syracuse law exempts financial institutions because they are targets for armed robbery attempts. Erie County has a similar carveout.
Biometric surveillance worries became more pronounced in January after supermarket chain Wegmans disclosed it was using the tool in New York City. A law in that city requires businesses using the technology to post signs notifying customers. Wegmans will not say where outside of New York City it has been collecting biometric data.
Wegmans does not operate any stores within the city of Syracuse but has several in the suburbs. The Onondaga County Legislature approved a law earlier this month requiring disclosure of biometric surveillance.
County Executive Ryan McMahon will hold a mandated public hearing on Wednesday before deciding whether to sign the Legislature’s measure. If he vetoes it, the Legislature can override him with a two-thirds majority, which they had via the 12-5 vote approving the proposal.
In addition to approving the Syracuse local law, councilors on Monday passed a resolution urging the state Legislature to approve statewide laws that include May’s biometric surveillance ban and bills that would prohibit the use of surveillance pricing by retailers.
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