What This Bill Does
This bill makes it illegal for the federal government to use facial recognition or other biometric surveillance systems without specific approval from Congress. It also prevents state and local governments from receiving certain federal law enforcement grants unless they pass their own similar restrictions on biometric surveillance.
Who It Affects
- Federal agencies and their employees, contractors and subcontractors
- State and local government law enforcement agencies
- Individuals who believe federal officials violated the law
- State attorneys general
Key Provisions
- Federal officials cannot buy, own, access or use biometric surveillance systems in the United States unless Congress passes a law specifically authorizing it that includes detailed standards for accuracy, data protection and civil rights (Sec. 3(a) and (b))
- Information illegally collected through biometric surveillance cannot be used as evidence in federal criminal, civil or administrative cases, except in cases about violations of this bill itself (Sec. 3(c)(1))
- Federal law enforcement agencies cannot use any federal money to buy or use biometric surveillance systems (Sec. 3(e))
- State and local governments lose certain federal public safety grants if they do not have laws restricting biometric surveillance the same way this bill does (Sec. 4(a))
- Individuals harmed by federal violations can sue the federal government for actual damages, punitive damages (extra penalties to punish wrongdoing), attorney fees and other court-ordered relief (Sec. 3(c)(2)(D))
What Changes
Beginning the first fiscal year after this bill becomes law, state and local governments must adopt rules banning biometric surveillance that match the federal prohibition or they will lose federal law enforcement grants. Federal agencies immediately lose the ability to purchase or use these surveillance systems with federal money. Anyone illegally surveilled by the federal government gains the right to sue in court.
Important Definitions
- Biometric surveillance system: computer software that performs facial recognition or other remote biometric identification in real time or on recordings or photographs
- Facial recognition: a computer process that identifies individuals or gathers surveillance information by analyzing the physical features of a person's face, or that records facial characteristics to determine emotion, associations, activities or location
- Other remote biometric recognition: computer processes that identify people based on how they walk (gait) or other unchangeable physical traits visible from a distance, or that use voice recognition technology, or that record these traits to infer emotion, associations, activities or location. This does not include fingerprint or palm print identification.
- Voice recognition technology: the computer process that identifies or verifies someone based on the characteristics of their voice
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1404
To prohibit biometric surveillance by the Federal Government without explicit
statutory authorization and to withhold certain Federal public safety
grants from State and local governments that engage in biometric surveil-
lance.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 7, 2023
Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOW-
MAN, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CASAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. LEE of California, Ms.
NORTON, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition
to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be sub-
sequently 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 biometric surveillance by the Federal Government
without explicit statutory authorization and to withhold
certain Federal public safety grants from State and local
governments that engage in biometric surveillance.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Facial Recognition and
4
Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2023’’.
5
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•HR 1404 IH
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
1
In this Act:
2
(1) BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM.—The
3
term ‘‘biometric surveillance system’’ means any
4
computer software that performs facial recognition
5
or other remote biometric recognition in real time or
6
on a recording or photograph.
7
(2)
BYRNE
GRANT
PROGRAM.—The
term
8
‘‘Byrne grant program’’ means the grant program
9
authorized under subpart 1 of part E of title I of
10
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
11
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), whether character-
12
ized as the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local
13
Law Enforcement Assistance Programs, the Local
14
Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Pro-
15
gram, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assist-
16
ance Grant Program, or otherwise.
17
(3) FACIAL
RECOGNITION.—The term ‘‘facial
18
recognition’’ means an automated or semi-automated
19
process that—
20
(A) assists in identifying an individual,
21
capturing information about an individual, or
22
otherwise generating or assisting in generating
23
surveillance information about an individual
24
based on the physical characteristics of the indi-
25
vidual’s face; or
26
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•HR 1404 IH
(B) logs characteristics of an individual’s
1
face, head, or body to infer emotion, associa-
2
tions, activities, or the location of an individual.
3
(4) FEDERAL
OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘Federal
4
official’’ means any officer, employee, agent, con-
5
tractor, or subcontractor of the United States Gov-
6
ernment.
7
(5) IN THE UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘in the
8
United States’’ means all areas within the external
9
boundary of the United States, its territories and
10
possessions, including airports, ports of entry, and
11
border zones.
12
(6) OTHER
REMOTE
BIOMETRIC
RECOGNI-
13
TION.—The term ‘‘other remote biometric recogni-
14
tion’’—
15
(A) means an automated or semi-auto-
16
mated process that—
17
(i) assists in identifying an individual,
18
capturing information about an individual,
19
or otherwise generating or assisting in gen-
20
erating surveillance information about an
21
individual based on the characteristics of
22
the individual’s gait or other immutable
23
characteristic ascertained from a distance;
24
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•HR 1404 IH
(ii) uses voice recognition technology;
1
or
2
(iii) logs such characteristics to infer
3
emotion, associations, activities, or the lo-
4
cation of an individual; and
5
(B) does not include identification based
6
on fingerprints or palm prints.
7
(7) VOICE
RECOGNITION
TECHNOLOGY.—The
8
term ‘‘voice recognition technology’’ means the auto-
9
mated or semi-automated process that assists in
10
identifying or verifying an individual based on the
11
characteristics of an individual’s voice.
12
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT USE OF
13
BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE.
14
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
15
(b), it shall be unlawful for any Federal agency or Federal
16
official, in an official capacity, to acquire, possess, access,
17
or use in the United States—
18
(1) any biometric surveillance system; or
19
(2) information derived from a biometric sur-
20
veillance system operated by another entity.
21
(b) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition set forth in sub-
22
section (a) does not apply to activities explicitly authorized
23
by an Act of Congress that describes, with particularity—
24
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•HR 1404 IH
(1) the entities permitted to use the biometric
1
surveillance system, the specific type of biometric
2
authorized, the purposes for such use, and any pro-
3
hibited uses;
4
(2) standards for use and management of infor-
5
mation derived from the biometric surveillance sys-
6
tem, including data retention, sharing, access, and
7
audit trails;
8
(3) auditing requirements to ensure the accu-
9
racy of biometric surveillance system technologies,
10
standards for minimum accuracy rates, and accuracy
11
rates by gender, skin color, and age;
12
(4) rigorous protections for due process, pri-
13
vacy, free speech and association, and racial, gender,
14
and religious equity; and
15
(5) mechanisms to ensure compliance with the
16
provisions of the Act.
17
(c) JUDICIAL INVESTIGATIONS AND PROCEEDINGS.—
18
(1) ADMISSIBILITY.—Except in a judicial inves-
19
tigation or proceeding alleging a violation of this sec-
20
tion, information obtained in violation of this section
21
is not admissible by the Federal Government in any
22
criminal, civil, administrative, or other investigation
23
or proceeding.
24
(2) CAUSE OF ACTION.—
25
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•HR 1404 IH
(A) IN GENERAL.—A violation of this sec-
1
tion constitutes an injury to any individual ag-
2
grieved by a violation of this Act.
3
(B) RIGHT
TO
SUE.—An individual de-
4
scribed in subparagraph (A) may institute pro-
5
ceedings against the Federal Government whose
6
official is alleged to have violated this section
7
for the relief described in subparagraph (D) in
8
any court of competent jurisdiction.
9
(C) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS
10
GENERAL.—The chief law enforcement officer
11
of a State, or any other State officer authorized
12
by law to bring actions on behalf of the resi-
13
dents of a State, may bring a civil action, as
14
parens patriae, on behalf of the residents of
15
that State in an appropriate district court of
16
the United States to enforce this Act, whenever
17
the chief law enforcement officer or other State
18
officer has reason to believe that the interests
19
of the residents of the State have been or are
20
being threatened or adversely affected by a vio-
21
lation of this Act.
22
(D) RELIEF.—In a civil action brought
23
under subparagraph (B) in which the plaintiff
24
prevails, the court may award—
25
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•HR 1404 IH
(i) actual damages;
1
(ii) punitive damages;
2
(iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and
3
costs; and
4
(iv) any other relief, including injunc-
5
tive relief, that the court determines to be
6
appropriate.
7
(d) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any Federal official who is
8
found to have violated this section may be subject to re-
9
training, suspension, termination, or any other penalty, as
10
determined in an appropriate tribunal, subject to applica-
11
ble due process requirements.
12
(e) FEDERAL FUNDING.—
13
(1) IN GENERAL.—No Federal funds may be
14
obligated or expended by a Federal law enforcement
15
agency for the purchase or use of a biometric sur-
16
veillance system.
17
(2) UNALLOCATED FUNDS.—No Federal agency
18
may use any unallocated funds appropriated to the
19
agency for the purchase or use of a biometric sur-
20
veillance system.
21
(f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
22
tion may be construed—
23
(1) to prohibit the National Institute of Stand-
24
ards and Technology (NIST) from testing or re-
25
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•HR 1404 IH
searching biometric surveillance systems or other re-
1
mote biometric recognition technologies in commer-
2
cial use; or
3
(2) to preempt or supersede any Federal, State,
4
or local law that imposes a more stringent limitation
5
than the limitations described in this section.
6
SEC. 4. MORATORIUM ON STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
7
USE OF BIOMETRIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS.
8
(a) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Beginning
9
on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after the
10
date of the enactment of this Act, a State or unit of local
11
government is ineligible to receive Federal financial assist-
12
ance under the Byrne grant program unless the State or
13
unit of local government is complying with a law or policy
14
that is substantially similar to the prohibition set forth
15
in section 3(a).
16
(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
17
tion may be construed to preempt or supersede any Fed-
18
eral, State, or local law that imposes a more stringent lim-
19
itation than the prohibition set forth in section 3(a).
20
Æ
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