NY Senate Passes Facial Recognition Study Bill

It is a study, not a ban

Surveillance camera mounted on urban infrastructure

TL;DR: The New York State Senate passed S3699, the Facial Recognition Technology Study Act. It creates a task force to study how facial recognition is being used and recommend regulations. It does not ban anything. The bill now goes to the Assembly.

What Actually Passed

State Senator James Sanders Jr.'s bill creates a task force. That's it. The group gets one year to:

  • Review how public and private entities currently use facial recognition in New York
  • Identify privacy risks and potential for misuse
  • Look at what other states have done
  • Recommend a regulatory framework

Members get appointed by the governor, Senate president, Assembly speaker, and the state IT director. A governor's appointee chairs the whole thing. [1]

No restrictions kick in while they study. No company has to stop scanning faces. No agency has to delete databases. The task force writes a report, and then the legislature decides what (if anything) to do about it.

Why Now?

James Dolan is part of the reason. The Madison Square Garden owner used facial recognition to ban lawyers from Knicks games. Not criminals. Lawyers. Specifically, attorneys whose firms had any case against his company. By 2023, MSG had notified over 90 law firms that their people weren't welcome. [2]

Attorney General Letitia James demanded documentation. A class action lawsuit got filed, then dismissed in May 2024. The MSG situation embarrassed the state and showed how current law had no answer for corporate abuse of biometric surveillance. [3]

Schools are a different story. New York actually has a moratorium on facial recognition in K-12 schools, signed by Governor Cuomo in 2020 after the Lockport City School District deployed a surveillance system. The State Education Department later banned the technology outright for schools. [4]

But that school ban doesn't touch private businesses, police departments, or state agencies. Hence the study.

Why Privacy Groups Are Skeptical

Study commissions delay action. They don't replace it, but they definitely delay it.

While the task force meets, NYPD keeps deploying facial recognition. Clearview AI keeps selling to whoever pays. Madison Square Garden keeps scanning faces. Landlords keep installing biometric entry systems in apartment buildings.

New York could have passed an actual ban or moratorium. San Francisco did it in 2019. Multiple cities followed. Instead, the legislature chose to study the question for another year, four years after the school moratorium showed they already understood the risks.

Biometric Update described the bill as a "cautious middle path." That's a generous framing. A less generous one: the legislature punted. [1]

What Happens Next

The bill goes to the Assembly. If it passes there and the governor signs it, the task force forms. One year later, they produce recommendations. Then the legislature has to pass new bills based on those recommendations. That's 2027 at the earliest before any actual rules take effect.

Meanwhile, a separate bill (S3827) would extend the school ban and make it permanent. That one hasn't passed yet either. [5]

What You Can Do

Watch for the Assembly vote. S3699 needs to pass there too. Contact your Assembly member if you want stronger action than another study.
Track S3827. The permanent school ban bill is more meaningful than the study. It would actually restrict something.
Know your building. If your landlord has installed facial recognition for entry, that's currently legal in New York. Document it. Some NYC Council members are pushing for restrictions on biometric building access. [6]
Opt out where possible. Some venues offer alternatives to facial scanning. Ask. Make it annoying for them.

The Bottom Line

New York's Senate passed a study bill. The state that banned facial recognition in schools five years ago is now studying whether maybe it should regulate the technology more broadly. The task force will have members appointed by politicians and make recommendations politicians can ignore.

It's something. It's not much.

References

  1. Biometric Update: New York Senate Advances Facial Recognition Study Bill (March 2026)
  2. NYU JIPEL: Madison Square Garden Uses Facial Recognition to Ban Owner's Enemies
  3. Sportico: New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden Win Biometric Data Lawsuit (May 2024)
  4. ACLU: New York Creates First-in-the-Nation Moratorium on Facial Recognition in Schools
  5. NY Senate: S3827A - Biometric Technology in Schools
  6. Gothamist: After MSG Debacle, NYC Considers Facial Recognition Ban for Businesses, Landlords

Published: March 21, 2026