Sens. Markey, Merkley and Reps. Jayapal, Tlaib, Pressley Reintroduce Legislation to Halt Government Use of Facial Recognition and Other Biometric Technology

Sens. Markey, Merkley and Reps. Jayapal, Tlaib, Pressley Reintroduce Legislation to Halt Government Use of Facial Recognition and Other Biometric Technology September 25, 2026 Bill Text (PDF) Washington (September 25, 2026) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), announced the reintroduction of the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act , legislation to prohibit the government from using facial recognition and other biometric technologies. The legislation responds to the federal government’s growing use of biometric recognition technology, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) mobile facial recognition app, which has been used to target immigrants and intimidate communities across the country. Research shows that nearly half of U.S. adults’ faces are already stored in facial recognition databases, and that Black, Brown, and Asian individuals are up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified by a facial recognition algorithm than white men. “Facial recognition and other biometric technologies in the hands of government agencies have become tools of authoritarianism. Agencies such as ICE and CBP are using this technology to track, target, intimidate and surveil communities across the country,” said Senator Markey . “ Black and Brown communities — already subject to the most aggressive policing and immigration enforcement — are disproportionately affected and more likely to be wrongly flagged, detained, or targeted by a faulty facial recognition match. We must stop the Trump administration’s growing web of surveillance technology, and that starts with a moratorium on dangerous, discriminatory biometric recognition.” “Every American who values their right to privacy, stands against discrimination, and believes people are innocent until proven guilty should be concerned about facial recognition technology fueling a national surveillance state,” said Senator Merkley . “Enacting a federal moratorium on this technology is critical to ensuring we can rein in inappropriate surveillance and protect our communities’ fundamental right to privacy.” “We have to stop the constant, nonconsensual state of surveillance that we live in, and that starts with placing a moratorium on our government’s use of facial recognition technology,” said Congresswoman Jayapal . “Black and Brown people are more likely to be misidentified and wrongfully put in jail because of this unregulated technology, and our government has used it to unjustly target protestors and immigrants. Putting the brakes on this technology is necessary to protect civil rights and ensure public safety.” “Facial recognition technology is racist, misidentifying Black, Brown, and Asian residents and pinning them as suspects in crimes they did not commit,” said Representative Tlaib . “When such flawed and biased technology is used to invade our privacy, we are all less safe. I’m proud to reintroduce this bill that will ban facial recognition technology and protect all our civil liberties.” The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would: Place a prohibition on the use of facial recognition technology by federal entities, which can only be lifted with an act of Congress; Place a prohibition on the use of other biometric technologies, including voice recognition, gate recognition, and recognition of other immutable physical characteristics, by federal entities, which can only be lifted with an act of Congress; Condition federal grant funding to state and local entities, including law enforcement, on those entities enacting their own moratoria on the use of facial recognition and biometric technology; Prohibit the use of federal dollars for biometric surveillance systems; Prohibit the use of information collected via biometric technology in violation of the Act in any judicial proceedings; Provide a private right of action for individuals whose biometric data is used in violation of the Act and allow for enforcement by state Attorneys General; and Allow states and localities to enact their own laws regarding the use of facial recognition and biometric technologies. “Face surveillance is one of the most intrusive surveillance technologies. It’s past time for the federal government to end its use. Face surveillance in the hands of the government is a fundamentally harmful technology, even under strict regulations or if the technology was 100% accurate. We thank the authors of this bill for their leadership in ending the federal government’s use of this dangerous and invasive technology,” said India McKinney, Director of Federal Affairs at Electronic Frontier Foundation . “We can no longer afford to ignore the very real harms of AI surveillance technologies, including facial recognition. We ha