Common Councilors Jimmy Monto and Corey Williams plan to introduce a biometric surveillance ban that’s modeled after a statewide bill introduced by state Sen. Rachel May, D-Syracuse.
Both measures would prohibit “places of public accommodation” from using technology that scans and attempts to identify people based on physical characteristics such as facial geometry, fingerprints, iris or retina patterns, voice, gait and DNA sequence.
Williams said city officials are not aware of any businesses or organizations using the technology within city limits, but they are concerned about its growing use around the country and the implications for privacy and civil rights.
“Enacting this legislation would affirm the City of Syracuse’s commitment to protecting individual privacy rights and ensuring that emerging technologies are deployed in a manner consistent with transparency, accountability, and civil liberties,” Monto and Williams wrote in a memo to the city clerk this week requesting the legislation.
Biometric surveillance came into the spotlight in early January when supermarket chain Wegmans disclosed it had begun collecting biometric data on customers in New York City. A law in that city requires businesses using the technology to post signs notifying customers. The company refused to say where outside of New York City it has been collecting biometric data.
During a council study session on Wednesday, Williams said they planned to hold a committee meeting to discuss the measure and gather feedback from the public. In addition, attorneys are working on final language for the proposed local law, which means it likely won’t be formally introduced until the council’s May 4 meeting. A vote could then happen as soon as the May 18 meeting.
Councilor Rasheada Caldwell, who said she supports the intent behind the proposal, asked if Monto and Williams had consulted with the Syracuse Police Department to see if it would interfere with their ability to work with businesses on investigations. Williams said SPD Chief Mark Rusin has told them the legislation does not present any problems for police.
The law would be a civil statute, not something SPD would be enforcing. It allows people who are targeted by illegal biometric surveillance to file a lawsuit, with a penalty of $1,000 per violation.
May’s statewide law has the same penalty, but it also provides for awarding attorneys’ fees for prevailing plaintiffs in those lawsuits, as well as the suppression of material obtained through unlawful surveillance in criminal cases. Attorneys are researching if the city has the legal authority to include those penalties.
New York City’s legislators are currently considering a biometric surveillance ban. Locally, the Onondaga County Legislature is weighing a law that would require businesses to disclose its use.
May’s bill is currently awaiting action in the state Senate’s Investigations and Government Operations Committee. A companion bill in the state Assembly is in that body’s Government Operations Committee.
The proposed biometric data collection ban is not the first measure Williams and Monto have pushed related to surveillance technology.
Earlier this year, the councilors secured unanimous votes from their colleagues to remove license plate readers installed and maintained under a contract with the SPD and hire a replacement firm.
The councilors cited concerns about Flock sharing data with federal immigration enforcement agencies in their controversial mass deportation effort under President Donald Trump. The council authorized a contract with Axon Enterprises for license plate readers that lawmakers believe have ironclad protections of data collected in the city.
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