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Businesses Are Deploying Biometric Surveillance Including Facial Geometry, Fingerprints, Iris Patterns, Voice, Gait, and DNA Sequences To Identify Customers And Exclude Others
By David Carlucci
Earlier this year, shoppers at Wegmans locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn noticed something new posted near the entrance: a notice informing them that the store was collecting biometric data, including information about their faces, eyes, and voices. The disclosure came not as a voluntary announcement, but as a requirement under a 2021 New York City law mandating that businesses using such technology inform customers.
For many New Yorkers, it was the first time they had encountered the issue directly. For policymakers across the state, it renewed a debate that has been building for years.
What Biometric Surveillance Is
Biometric surveillance refers to the automated collection of physical or behavioral characteristics that can be used to identify an individual. That includes facial geometry, fingerprints, iris patterns, voice, gait, and DNA sequence. When a business deploys this technology, a system may scan and attempt to identify a person upon entering a space, often without any active interaction on the customer’s part.
The practice is not new, and it is not limited to Wegmans. Macy’s and Whole Foods have used similar tools. Madison Square Garden drew significant attention after deploying facial recognition technology to restrict entry. In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission banned Rite Aid from using the technology for five years after the agency found the retailer had wrongly flagged thousands of customers as shoplifters, with errors falling disproportionately on women and people of color.
Proponents of the technology argue it provides meaningful security benefits, helping businesses deter theft and identify individuals with a history of criminal activity on their premises. Critics argue that the technology is error-prone, racially biased, and collects highly sensitive data that consumers cannot easily protect themselves against, since, unlike a password or account number, biometric characteristics cannot be changed if compromised.
What Albany Is Considering
State Senator Rachel May of Syracuse introduced legislation, S8004, that would prohibit places of public accommodation from using biometric surveillance systems without meeting specific consent requirements. A companion bill in the Assembly, A6211, was introduced by Assemblymember Simone. Both bills would amend the Civil Rights Law to restrict how businesses operating public-facing spaces can collect and use biometric data.
The bills include a private right of action for individuals subjected to unlawful biometric surveillance, with a penalty of $1,000 per violation. The bill also provides for attorneys’ fees for prevailing plaintiffs and suppression of unlawfully obtained surveillance material in criminal proceedings.
S8004 is currently in the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee. A6211 is in the Assembly Governmental Operations Committee. Neither has advanced to a floor vote.
New York is not alone in examining this issue. Illinois enacted the Biometric Information Privacy Act years ago, and it has produced significant class action litigation. Texas and Washington have enacted consent-based frameworks. Missouri and Minnesota have pending legislation targeting places of public accommodation specifically. The policy landscape nationally is unsettled, with states taking a range of approaches from disclosure requirements to outright prohibitions.
What Is Happening at the Local Level
The legislative activity at the state level has been mirrored, and in some cases preceded, by local governments moving on their own.
In New York City, a 2021 law already requires businesses collecting biometric data to post conspicuous notice at entrances. The City Council is currently considering legislation that would go further, prohibiting places of public accommodation from using biometric recognition technology to identify customers altogether.
In Syracuse this month, Common Council Members Corey Williams and Jimmy Monto introduced a municipal biometric surveillance ban modeled on Senator May’s statewide bill. The proposal would bar businesses from using biometric surveillance in places of public accommodation within city limits. The council is expected to hold a committee hearing before considering a vote, potentially as early as May 18. Council Member Williams has said he hopes local action will help build momentum for the state bill in Albany.
The Onondaga County Legislature is separately weighing a disclosure requirement similar to New York City’s existing law, though that measure has not advanced.
One question raised by the emergence of local ordinances is consistency. A business operating across multiple jurisdictions in New York State would face different legal standards depending on where its locations sit. Advocates for a statewide approach argue that uniform rules would provide clarity for both businesses and consumers. Those skeptical of state preemption argue that local governments are closer to their communities and better positioned to respond to local concerns.
The Broader Context
The debate over biometric surveillance in New York sits at the intersection of several larger conversations: the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and automated systems into commercial spaces, growing concerns about data security and consumer privacy, and ongoing questions about how existing civil rights frameworks apply to emerging technologies.
For businesses, the technology represents a tool for loss prevention and security management. For privacy advocates and civil liberties organizations, it raises questions about consent, accuracy, and the downstream uses of data collected in everyday commercial settings, including potential access by third parties or government agencies.
Albany has not yet resolved where New York will land on those questions. The state bills remain in committee. The local activity suggests the issue is unlikely to stay there quietly.
David Carlucci consults organizations on navigating government and securing funding. He served for ten years in the New York Senate.
