Buried in the new state budget is one sentence with major implications for the future of MTA fare enforcement: a ban on the use of facial recognition.

MTA banned from using facial recognition to enforce fare evasion

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2024-05-01 01:00:34

Buried in the new state budget is one sentence with major implications for the future of MTA fare enforcement: a ban on the use of facial recognition.

The new law requires the MTA to “not use, or arrange for the use, of biometric identifying technology, including but not limited to facial recognition technology, to enforce rules relating to the payment of fares.”

State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani of Queens told Gothamist the measure was added to the budget to protect New Yorkers and their privacy.

“There has long been a concern [facial recognition] could invade upon people's lives through expanded surveillance and through the criminalization of just existing within the public sphere,” Mamdani said.

New York lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed on the budget last weekend. In typical Albany fashion, small changes to laws or rules were crammed into the sprawling document, including the facial recognition ban, without public debate. Transparency advocates often derisively refer to the document as the “Big Ugly” for that reason.

Privacy advocates and good government groups praised the new measure, particularly as the state Legislature increased the maximum penalty for fare evasion from $100 to $200 this year.