For Immediate Release
Council Members, Advocates Rally Against Facial Recognition Before City Council Considers Bans
(New York, NY, 3/2/2026) – Today, civil rights groups, New York City Council Member Shahana Hanif and New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés held a press conference and rally on the steps of New York City Hall to urge the New York City Council to ban facial recognition and other forms of biometric surveillance. The rally took place prior to a City Council hearing with the Committee on Technology to discuss two bills, both part of the “Ban The Scan” legislative campaign, which would ban the use of facial recognition by landlords and public accommodations in New York City. Advocates urged City Council to not only pass the two bills but to place a full ban on the use of biometric surveillance by police and government.
SEE: Video of Press Conference and Rally
https://web.tresorit.com/l/Uk5SD#Ao81q2cMsQ86e0lsQ_O47A
NYC Council – Int 0213-2026 New York City Ban on Public Accommodations Biometric Surveillance
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7861954&GUID=1D5898C5-53CA-49DA-BA41-84EF0DD03FC3&Options=&Search=
NYC Council – Int 0428-2026 New York City Ban on Residential Landlord Biometric Surveillance
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7862812&GUID=82868853-7D34-466F-B2FD-0617D9CF75DC&Options=&Search=
“Facial recognition should never be part of New Yorkers’ lives, least of all when they’re buying groceries or unlocking their front door,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Advocacy and Community Engagement Manager Corinne Worthington. “We’ve seen over and over how facial recognition perpetuates discrimination and systemic bias, and we’re proud to continue fighting for legislation that will ban these technologies in housing and public spaces.”
“Nobody wants to live in a world where pervasive surveillance identifies them, tracks their every move, watches where they visit, which services they access, who they meet, or how they exercise their free speech rights,” said Medha Raman, Legal Fellow at the New York Civil Liberties Union. "Whether it’s buying groceries, opening your front door, or attending a sports game, the current lack of regulation over biometric surveillance technology is letting companies and government entities collect highly personal information about your every move — defying basic Constitutional principles and putting New Yorkers at risk. As more entities deploy these dystopian surveillance tools, the City Council must protect New Yorkers and ban biometric surveillance in public accommodations and residential spaces.”
"Facial recognition systems have repeatedly misidentified Black and brown people at significantly higher rates, yet are deployed in everyday spaces without oversight or accountability,” said Nina Loshkajian, Technology & Racial Justice Collaborative Fellow at the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU Law. “To allow this technology to operate in essential businesses invites discrimination at scale. Policymakers have a responsibility to prevent tools with known racial bias from causing harm."
"New Yorkers should not have to give up their biometric privacy in order to go grocery shopping or enter their apartment buildings," said Laura Moraff, Digital Forensics Staff Attorney at The Legal Aid Society. "We cannot let technologies that systematically discriminate against people of color determine where people can go and whether they pose a risk. The Legal Aid Society applauds the City Council for introducing bills to ban the use of biometric recognition technologies by providers of public accommodations and landlords, and we urge the Council to ban law enforcement from using biometric recognition technology as well."
"Time and time again, facial recognition has been used to jeopardise the safety and violate the rights of Black and Brown New Yorkers," said Amnesty International Adviser on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights Technology Matt Mahmoudi. "The technology is incompatible with human rights law and the City must now urgently move to ban in it."
In May 2024, S.T.O.P. and 20 other civil rights groups launched a state-level “Ban The Scan” campaign, introducing four bills to ban facial recognition by businesses, landlords, schools, and law enforcement in New York State. This came shortly after a provision in the state budget included a ban on MTA’s use of facial recognition for fare enforcement on the New York City Subway, which S.T.O.P. celebrated as a major win for the Ban The Scan campaign. Since 2024, S.T.O.P. has rigorously advocated, at the statewide and citywide level, for bans on biometric surveillance.
SEE: Ban The Scan campaign website
https://www.banthescan.org/
Sign-On Letter in Support of Facial Recognition Legislation
https://www.stopspying.org/sign-on-letters/2024/5/2/sign-on-letter-in-support-of-facial-recognition-legislation
Press Release - Amnesty International, S.T.O.P. Lawsuit Reveals NYPD Surveillance Abuses
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2025/11/13/amnesty-international-stop-lawsuit-reveals-nypd-surveillance-abuses
Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns NYPD False Facial Recognition Arrest Of Innocent Black Man
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2025/8/27/stop-condemns-nypd-false-facial-recognition-arrest-of-innocent-black-man
In 2024, S.T.O.P. joined elected officials and civil rights groups in rallying against facial recognition and other biometric surveillance in New York City Hall Park ahead of a City Council hearing with the Technology and Civil and Human Rights Committees on proposed bans.
SEE: Press Release - Electeds, Advocates Rally Against Facial Recognition Before City Council Hearing
https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2024/6/10/electeds-advocates-rally-against-facial-recognition-before-city-council-hearing
Crain’s New York Business - Op-Ed: In NY shops, your biometric data is another steep cost
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/op-ed/op-ed-ny-shops-your-biometric-data-another-steep-cost
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.
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