Take action now: tell your legislators to ban biometric surveillance
New York City Campaign

Three bills. One city ban.

Three bills at the New York City Council would ban biometric surveillance in public accommodations, residential buildings, and by city government itself. Here's what each bill does, and how to tell your Council Member to pass them.

The Legislation

What these three bills actually do.

Two of the three bills have already been introduced at the City Council. The third, a ban on city government's own use of biometric surveillance, is still being drafted, which is exactly why it needs public pressure now.

Int 0213-2026 Introduced, In Committee

Ban on Biometric Surveillance in Public Accommodations

Sponsored by Council Member Shahana Hanif

Prohibits stores, arenas, and other places of public accommodation in New York City from using facial recognition or biometric surveillance to identify, track, or exclude customers, directly responding to Madison Square Garden barring attorneys at the door and retailers scanning shoppers without consent.

Read the Bill Text → View the Biometric Map → Relevant Media → Memorandum in Support →
Int 0428-2026 Introduced

Ban on Biometric Surveillance by Residential Landlords

Sponsored by Council Member Pierina Sanchez

Prohibits NYC landlords from requiring tenants to use facial recognition or other biometric systems to enter their own buildings, and bars collection of biometric data as a condition of tenancy.

Read the Bill Text → Relevant Media → 2024 Coalition Memo (PDF) →
Not Yet Numbered Not Yet Introduced

Ban on Government Use of Biometric Surveillance

Sponsor: TBD

Would prohibit New York City agencies, including the NYPD, from using facial recognition and biometric surveillance, closing the accountability gap exposed by the NYPD's 22,000+ facial recognition searches between 2016 and 2019. This bill needs a Council sponsor and public pressure to move forward.

Ask Your Council Member to Sponsor It → Relevant Media →

Track the Scan

See where biometric surveillance shows up in NYC.

This crowdsourced map, maintained by S.T.O.P. (Surveillance Technology Oversight Project), tracks stores, arenas, and other public accommodations that use facial recognition, exactly the kind of use Int 0213-2026 would ban.

Take Action

Sign the New York City petition.

Add your name to tell the City Council to pass all three bills, and to push for a sponsor on the government-use ban.

Campaign Documents

Sign-on letters and memos of support.

Current support materials and the prior-session coalition letter archived from the original Ban the Scan website.

Current City Council Session

City Council Package Archive

Represent an organization? Sign on to our NYC coalition letter.

Sign On Your Organization

Get Involved

Contact your City Council Member.

Signing the petition matters, but a direct call or email to your own Council Member carries the most weight at City Hall, especially on the bill that still needs a sponsor. Here's how in three steps.

01

Find Your Council Member

Look up which Council Member represents your district. That's who you'll be calling or emailing.

Find My Council Member
02

Call or Email

A short, personal call takes two minutes and is one of the most effective things you can do. Use this script, or send the email template:

“Hi, my name is ___ and I'm a constituent from [neighborhood/zip]. I'm calling to ask Council Member [name] to co-sponsor and vote yes on Int 0213-2026 and Int 0428-2026, and to introduce a bill banning city government's own use of biometric surveillance.”
Get the Email Template
03

Show Up

Attend a City Council hearing or coalition day of action.

Join Our Action Alerts

The government-use ban still needs a sponsor and a committee hearing. Add direct pressure on the City Council Speaker to move it forward.

Contact the Speaker

Help us track where biometric surveillance shows up in NYC stores, arenas, and other public accommodations. Add a sighting from your own neighborhood.

Contribute to the Biometric Map Read the How-To Guide

Fighting On Two Fronts

There's a State Campaign too.

Four bills in the State Legislature would extend similar bans across all of New York. See the details and sign that petition too.

View the State Campaign

Stay Involved

Don't miss a hearing date.

Get email updates as these bills move through the City Council: hearing dates, votes, and moments when your call matters most.

Why This Matters