City Council Bill Would Limit Facial Recognition Technology

Privacy concerns by tenants and civil liberties experts have prompted the New York City Council to consider legislation that would regulate the use of facial recognition technology by both business owners and landlords. The KEYS (Keep Entry to Your Home Surveillance Free) Act, introduced by Brooklyn Councilmember Brad Lander, would require owners to provide tenants with traditional metal keys to enter their buildings and apartments. The measure would prevent building owners from requiring that tenants use facial recognition, biometric scanning, or any other smart-key technology to access their homes. The bill wouldn’t prevent owners from using facial recognition, but it would allow tenants to opt out.

Opposition earlier this year from a group of rent-stabilized tenants in Brooklyn to their landlord's plan to install facial recognition technology has led to legislation at both the state and federal level. State Senator Brad Hoylman and State Assembly Member Latrice Walker have introduced a state bill that would ban the use of facial recognition technology. In Congress, U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke has sought to ban the use of biometric technology in all rental complexes that receive federal funding, such as the public housing.