New Monroe County law targets facial recognition, biometric data – RochesterFirst
Monroe County has passed a new local law placing restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology and the collection of biometric data. The measure marks one of the more recent efforts by a local government to set its own rules around biometric surveillance.
Why this matters: Local biometric laws matter because they are often the only protection people actually have. Federal law on facial recognition does not exist in any meaningful form. State laws are patchy. So a county ordinance can be the difference between your face being scanned without consent and it not being. The details here will determine how real the protection is — who is covered, what counts as a violation, and whether there is any enforcement behind it.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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