[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7235 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7235
To prohibit use of facial recognition technology on any image acquired
by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 18, 2020
Mr. Beyer (for himself, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Heck, Mr. Rush, Mr. San
Nicolas, Mr. Raskin, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition
to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit use of facial recognition technology on any image acquired
by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Biometric Surveillance by Law
Enforcement Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Facial recognition and other biometric surveillance
technology pose unique and significant threats to the civil
rights and civil liberties of residents and visitors.
(2) The use of facial recognition and other biometric
surveillance is the functional equivalent of requiring every
person to show a personal photo identification card at all
times in violation of recognized constitutional rights. This
technology also allows people to be tracked without consent.
(3) It would also generate massive databases about law-
abiding Americans, and may chill the exercise of free speech in
public places.
(4) Facial recognition and other biometric surveillance
technology has been repeatedly demonstrated to misidentify
women, young people, and people of color and to create an
elevated risk of harmful ``false positive'' identifications.
(5) Facial and other biometric surveillance would corrupt
the core purpose of officer-worn body-worn cameras by
transforming those devices from transparency and accountability
tools into roving surveillance systems.
(6) The use of facial recognition and other biometric
surveillance would disproportionately impact the civil rights
and civil liberties of persons who live in highly policed
communities.
(7) Its use would also diminish effective policing and
public safety by discouraging people in these communities,
including victims of crime, undocumented persons, people with
unpaid fines and fees, and those with prior criminal history
from seeking police assistance or from assisting the police.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITING USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER
BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS.
(a) Byrne Grant.--
(1) Prohibition.--A State or unit of local government may
not use facial recognition technology or other biometric
surveillance systems on any image acquired by body-worn cameras
of law enforcement officers.
(2) Enforcement.--In the case that a State or unit of local
government violates paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall
reduce by 5 percent the amount that the State or unit of local
government would have otherwise received under subpart 1 of
part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.).
(3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated to a State or unit
of local government that violates paragraph (1) shall be
reallocated, in accordance with subpart 1 of part E of title I
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34
U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), to States and units of local government
that have complied with such paragraph (1).
(b) Urban Area Security Initiative Grant.--
(1) Prohibition.--A high-risk urban area may not use facial
recognition technology or other biometric surveillance systems
on any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement
officers.
(2) Enforcement.--In the case that a high-risk urban area
violates paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency shall reduce by 5 percent the
amount that the high-risk urban area would have otherwise
received under section 2003 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.).
(3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated to a high-risk
urban area that violates paragraph (1) shall be reallocated, in
accordance with section 2003 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.), to high-risk urban areas that have
complied with such paragraph (1).
(c) State Homeland Security Grant.--
(1) Prohibition.--A State may not use facial recognition
technology or other biometric surveillance systems on any image
acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers.
(2) Enforcement.--In the case that a State violates
paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall reduce by 5 percent the amount that the
high-risk urban area would have otherwise received under
section 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101
et seq.).
(3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated to a State that
violates paragraph (1) shall be reallocated, in accordance with
section 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101
et seq.), to States that have complied with such paragraph (1).
(d) Federal Prohibition.--A Federal law enforcement agency may not
use facial recognition technology or other biometric surveillance
systems on any image acquired by body-worn cameras of law enforcement
officers.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Biometric data.--The term ``biometric data'' means a
physiological, biological, or behavioral characteristic that
can be used, singly or in combination with each other or with
other information, to establish individual identity.
(2) Biometic surveillance system.--The term ``biometric
surveillance system'' means any computer software or
application that performs facial recognition or other biometric
surveillance.
(3) Body-worn camera.--The term ``body-worn camera'' means
an officer camera or similar device that records or transmits
images or sound and is attached to the body or clothing of, or
carried by, a law enforcement officer.
(4) Facial recognition technology or other biometric
surveillance.--The term ``facial recognition technology or
other biometric surveillance''--
(A) means an automated or semiautomated process
that--
(i) captures or analyzes biometric data of
an individual to identify or assist in
identifying an individual; or
(ii) generates, or assists in generating,
surveillance information about an individual
based on biometric data; and
(B) does not include the use of an automated or
semiautomated process for the purpose of redacting a
recording for release or disclosure outside the law
enforcement agency to protect the privacy of a subject
depicted in the recording, if the process does not
generate or result in the retention of any biometric
data or surveillance information.
(5) Use.--The term ``use'' means one or both of the
following:
(A) The direct use of a biometric surveillance
system by a law enforcement officer or a law
enforcement agency.
(B) A request or agreement by a law enforcement
officer or law enforcement agency that another law
enforcement agency or other third party use a biometric
surveillance system on behalf of the requesting officer
or agency.
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