NYC Council Heard Testimony on Facial Recognition Ban

Two bills would outlaw biometric surveillance in businesses and apartment buildings. Privacy advocates rallied at City Hall.

TL;DR: On March 2, 2026, the NYC Council's Committee on Technology held a hearing on two bills that would ban facial recognition technology citywide. Intro 213 would prohibit businesses from using biometric tech to identify customers. Intro 428 would ban landlords from scanning tenants' faces. Privacy groups rallied at City Hall before the hearing. Business groups want regulation, not a ban. No vote yet, but the hearing signals momentum after the Wegmans scandal put retail facial recognition in the spotlight.

What Happened

Two years after Councilmember Shahana Hanif first introduced "Ban the Scan," the bill finally got a hearing.

On Monday, March 2, the City Council's Committee on Technology convened to hear testimony on two bills [1]:

  • Intro 213-2026 (sponsored by Councilmember Shahana Hanif): Bans facial recognition and biometric technology in businesses open to the public: stores, restaurants, theaters, gyms, anywhere customers walk in
  • Intro 428-2026 (sponsored by Councilmember Pierina Ana Sanchez): Bans landlords from using biometric tech to identify tenants or their guests

Before the hearing, advocates rallied on the City Hall steps at 9 AM. The coalition included the NYCLU, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), the Legal Aid Society, and NYU's Centre on Race, Inequality and the Law [2].

Why This Matters Now

The timing isn't random. In January 2026, Wegmans admitted to scanning shoppers' faces at its NYC locations. That disclosure revealed something New Yorkers already suspected: walk into a major retailer and your face gets logged.

Wegmans isn't alone. CVS, Home Depot, Macy's, Target, and Walmart all run similar systems. NYC's 2021 disclosure law requires a sign on the door. That's it. No consent. No right to opt out. Just a notice.

Councilmember Hanif cited the Wegmans revelation directly: "The urgency comes from earlier this year when we learned that Wegmans is now using biometric technology" [1].

What Supporters Said

The privacy coalition came with receipts.

Michelle Dahl of S.T.O.P. repeated what she's been saying for years: "If there is a hack or breach, you can't change your face like you would change a password."

The NYCLU's Daniel Schwarz flagged the immigration risk: immigrant New Yorkers buying groceries shouldn't have to worry about their biometric data ending up with ICE.

NYU's Centre on Race, Inequality and the Law sent Nina Loshkajian to testify. The center has documented how facial recognition systems disproportionately misidentify people of color, especially Black women. The FTC's 2023 enforcement action against Rite Aid proved this isn't theoretical. The company falsely accused customers based on flawed matches.

Hanif framed it bluntly: "Biometric data should not be collected, stored, or sold by private actors. It poses a serious threat to our civil liberties" [3].

What Opponents Said

The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce didn't support a ban. Jessica Walker, the Chamber's president and CEO, submitted written testimony representing 125,000 businesses [4].

Her argument: "Banning biometric technology removes a scalable, cost-effective security tool and replaces it with nothing."

The Chamber claims small businesses owned by minorities, women, and immigrants can't afford private security. Facial recognition offers an affordable alternative. Walker proposed regulation instead:

  • Require informed consent before biometric collection
  • Distinguish security uses from commercial applications
  • Mandate strict data retention policies with audits
  • Keep the ban on selling biometric data to third parties
  • Prohibit discriminatory profiling

The Security Industry Association's Jake Parker argued a ban would "rob consumers of the choice" for secure identity verification [5].

What the Bills Actually Do

Intro 213: Businesses

If passed, Intro 213 would make it illegal for any public-facing business to use biometric recognition technology to identify customers. That includes:

  • Facial recognition cameras at store entrances
  • Systems that match faces against "known shoplifter" databases
  • Voiceprint or retinal scanning

There's one exception: businesses where biometric tech is "core to the function" (like a custom shoe store using gait analysis) and where customers explicitly consent.

Intro 428: Landlords

Intro 428 targets residential buildings. Landlords couldn't install, activate, or use any biometric system to identify tenants or their guests.

This matters because landlords have been quietly rolling out facial recognition entry systems for years. Tenants often don't get a say. The building adds a camera, links it to a database, and suddenly you're scanned every time you come home.

What Happens Next

The hearing was just testimony. No vote happened. The bills now sit with the Committee on Technology.

To become law, each bill needs:

  1. Committee approval
  2. Full Council vote
  3. Mayor Eric Adams' signature (or a veto override)

Timeline? Unclear. The original "Ban the Scan" bill has been languishing since 2023. But the Wegmans scandal created momentum. So did Madison Square Garden's use of facial recognition to eject attorneys whose firms sued owner James Dolan. Public awareness is higher than ever.

State-level action is also in play. Senator Rachel May's S8004 would ban biometric surveillance in "places of public accommodation" statewide. Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal has a separate bill requiring retailer transparency. Neither has moved yet.

What You Can Do

If you're in NYC:

  • Contact your Council member: Ask them to co-sponsor Intro 213 and Intro 428. Find your Council member here.
  • Look for signage: Under NYC's 2021 law, businesses must post if they collect biometric data. No sign? Report them to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
  • Shop elsewhere: Retailers respond to lost revenue. If your grocery store scans your face, switch to one that doesn't.

If you're a tenant:

  • Check if your building uses facial recognition entry systems
  • Ask your landlord directly, they may not volunteer the information
  • Support Intro 428 by contacting your Council member

Everyone: The hearing testimony is public record. Read what businesses said. Then decide if you want to give them your face.

References

  1. Gothamist - "NYC Council pushes to ban stores from collecting biometric data" (March 2026)
  2. S.T.O.P. - "Council Member Shahana Hanif Will Rally to Ban Biometric Recognition Technology Alongside Advocates" (February 26, 2026)
  3. Fox 5 NY - "These bills could ban NYC landlords and businesses from using facial recognition technology" (March 2026)
  4. Business Daily Network - "Manhattan Chamber urges regulation over ban of biometric security tools" (March 2026)
  5. StateScoop - "NYC again considers banning biometric tech for businesses, residential buildings" (2026)