BILL NUMBER: S2478
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to prohibiting the
use of a facial recognition system by a landlord on any residential
premises
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill adds a new Section 235-H to the Real Property Law
to define the terms "facial recognition" and "facial recognition system"
and provide that it shall be unlawful for any landlord to obtain,
retain, access, or use, on any residential premises, any facial recogni-
tion system or - information obtained from or by the use of a facial
recognition system. The new Section 235-H would give the Attorney Gener-
al the authority to seek an injunction for violations of this section,
and authorize a court to impose a civil penalty of not more than ten
thousand dollars for such violations. The new Section 235-H would also
authorize a private right of action for those unlawfully subjected to
facial recognition, and requires courts to award costs and reasonable
attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs.
Section 2 of this bill establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
As the use of facial recognition technology becomes increasingly common,
concerns have been raised by advocates for privacy and civil liberties
relating to the effectiveness and ethical implications of such technolo-
gy.
Significant evidence exists to suggest that facial recognition technolo-
gy is less accurate when analyzing faces of color than when analyzing
white faces. A 2018 study from MIT and Stanford University examining
commercially available facial analysis programs created by three major
companies found that the three programs' rates of error in determining
the gender of light-skinned men were never worse than 0.8%, but the
rates of error for dark-skinned women were significantly higher, with
two of the programs showing an error rate of more than 34%. We have seen
several recent examples in New York of landlords seeking to install
facial recognition technology in residential buildings as an alternative
to a traditional key or passcode system. Residents of the Atlantic Plaza
Towers in Brownsville, Brooklyn recently filed their opposition with New
York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) against the owner's plan to
install a facial recognition system in the development.
In addition, the proliferation of such technology for residential use
raises troubling concerns about mass surveillance and tracking capabili-
ty, in an era where there are already cameras on every block, especially
in urban areas. Facial recognition systems would give landlords the
ability to track, at the very least, every entry and exit of their
tenants and guests. The potential for misuse of this information by
landlords is high, particularly those looking to intimidate or drive out
longtime tenants of rent-regulated housing. Landlords already wield
significant power over tenants by controlling their access to stable
housing. Installing a facial recognition system on a residential prem-
ises and then requiring tenants to consent to the use of such system to
remain in the building is tantamount to evicting those who object to
having their sensitive personal data stored and used by a landlord.
We already have an affordable housing crisis in New York State. We
should not be further restricting access to housing for tenants who are
concerned about the security of their personal data. Given the substan-
tive issues raised about the ethics and security of facial recognition
technology, New York should prohibit its use on residential premises.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.0073 of 2021-2022 (Hoylman): Died in Judiciary
A.4352 of 2021-2022 (Walker): Died in Housing
S.5687 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Judiciary
A.7790 of 2019-2020 (Walker): Died in Housing
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.
 
PURPOSE: