A bill that would restrict private businesses in New York City from using facial recognition on customers has won the backing of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration and a majority of the City Council, sponsors and supporters said Friday.<\/p>\n
Advocates and lawmakers announced the momentum at a rally outside Madison Square Garden, whose owner, James Dolan, has used the technology to track visitors and bar attorneys pursuing litigation against the venue. The Garden is the campaign’s highest-profile target, even though many stores in the city use the technology.<\/p>\n
The bills would broadly prohibit businesses open to the public from scanning customers’ faces and other biometric features, and limit how the resulting data can be shared.<\/p>\n
The endorsement from Mamdani’s administration was announced at the rally by Councilmember Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn, the prime sponsor of one of the bills.<\/p>\n
“No one should have to surrender their personal privacy in order to watch their favorite sports team,” said Samuel Levine, the city’s commissioner of consumer and worker protection. “This kind of mass surveillance opens the door to abuse and discrimination, making consumers in our city uniquely vulnerable. It’s time to ban the scan and protect New Yorkers’ privacy and civil rights.”<\/p>\n
The Council’s Progressive Caucus also endorsed the measure this week, bringing its co-sponsor count to 28, according to city records, a majority of the 51-member Council. The bill still needs the backing of Speaker Julie Menin, who has not endorsed it.<\/p>\n