Fighting Facial Recognition at City Hall

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Friend,

Wednesday, after more than two years of campaigning by our Ban The Scan coalition, we convened advocates and elected officials for a historic facial recognition hearing, as the Council advanced two bills banning landlords’ and businesses’ biometric surveillance. Advocates denounced surveillance technology’s catastrophic impact, whether it be landlords’ intimidation of Black and immigrant tenants or Madison Square Garden’s recent retaliation against those suing the company.

If passed, these would be some of the most sweeping facial recognition protections in the country, protecting New Yorkers across the city, whether in stores, at concerts, at arenas, or in our own homes. It took years of work to make this hearing possible, and we never could have done it without help from supporters like you. But we’re not at the finish line yet. We still need to work to get these bills passed into law and to fight for the third part of the Ban The Scan platform.

Council Member Carlina Rivera and the Ban The Scan coalition.

Facial recognition is terrifying in anyone’s hands, but it can be deadly when abused by police. Sadly, the NYPD’s facial recognition dragnet has only accelerated, using this unreliable technology to surveil protesters and undermine the First Amendment. The NYPD isn’t alone. ICE’s facial recognition database includes almost 1 in 3 driver’s licenses. This is why S.T.O.P. and the Ban The Scan campaigners continue to fight for a full ban on government facial recognition.

This is not just a historic breakthrough; it is a critical moment for the future of all New Yorkers. Please consider donating today to help us build on these successes to pass laws that will protect all New Yorkers from the threat of facial recognition.

In solidarity,
Albert Fox Cahn
Executive Director

Forward

Newslettercommunications staffMay 6, 2023