NY Governor signs a bill to suspend the use of facial recognition and other biometric ID tech in schools until July 2022, the first such regulation in the US
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Tuesday temporarily banning the use of facial recognition in schools, making it the first state to take such a step.
ForbesRachel Sandler
Context & Ripple Effects
This closes a loop that opened in mid-2019, when a New York public school district became the first in the country to trial facial recognition, scanning for people barred from school buildings. The state legislature passed the pause in July, and Governor Cuomo's signature now makes New York the first state to actually suspend biometric ID in schools — until July 2022.
First-order effects
School districts in New York that deployed or planned biometric screening — including the district behind the 2019 pilot — must shut those systems down for the duration of the moratorium.
Second-order effects
Vendors selling facial recognition into K-12 lose their most visible US beachhead market, pushing them toward commercial deployments just as NYC's biometrics privacy law begins imposing notice and no-sale rules on business use.
Third-order effects
New York is establishing itself as the first-mover on statewide tech moratoria — the same 'first of its kind' template reappears years later with the legislature's one-year moratorium on large data centers — suggesting a playbook other states may copy when they want to pause a technology before regulating it.
The trend: State legislatures are increasingly using time-boxed moratoria as their first regulatory instrument for emerging technologies, with New York repeatedly going first.
don't get me wrong; I think a temporary ban is better than no ban. But a permanent ban seems to be the way to get it right on the first time, instead of setting up a future fight that companies want to win while people will not realize it is happening https://twitter.com/...
@ACLU I broke my Twitter hiatus for this. What a way to end the year, and a huge congratulations to everyone who worked tirelessly on this! https://www.governor.ny.gov/ ...
Facial recognition surveillance never belonged in schools. So glad our three year battle resulted in this new law today, statewide in NY. https://twitter.com/...
This is a BFD! “Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Suspending Use and Directing Study of Facial Recognition Technology in Schools” https://www.governor.ny.gov/ ... Congrats - and gratitude - to @NYCLU @jimshultz for their advocacy.
“The legislation places a moratorium on schools purchasing and using biometric identifying technology until at least July 1, 2022 or until the report is completed and the State Education Commissioner authorizes its use” https://www.governor.ny.gov/ ...
New York Gov. Cuomo signs law saying no more facial-recognition tech in school until at least summer 2022. “Makes no sense to bring this aggressive surveillance technology into our schools when no one has made a compelling case” https://www.governor.ny.gov/ ...