Erie County’s Department of Consumer Protection had received about 30 business responses to disclosure requirements under its new biometric privacy law, with only a handful reporting that they had collected covered data.
The county’s Biometrics Transparency and Privacy Act took effect on June 5. Commercial establishments that already possessed customer biometric information were required to notify the department within 30 days, describe the type and amount of data held and provide a policy for destroying it.
Businesses were also required to make their notices publicly available and certify that the biometric information had been permanently deleted or destroyed within 30 days of disclosure. The reporting deadline fell on July 5.
Spectrum News 1 obtained the response count from the department and reported that only a small portion of the approximately 30 submissions acknowledged collecting biometric information. One responding business, The Deli in East Aurora, said it captures payment information but does not retain it.
The law prohibits commercial establishments from collecting, storing, procuring, using, selling or otherwise monetizing customer biometric identifier information. Covered identifiers include facial geometry, fingerprints, voiceprints, iris data and certain other characteristics used to identify a person.
Continuing violations can lead to daily civil penalties. The county lists penalties ranging from 1,000 dollars to 5,000 dollars for each day a violation continues, depending on the requirement involved.
The law was adopted amid expanding commercial use of facial recognition for loss prevention. UK retailers provide one visible example: Sainsbury’s began testing Facewatch systems in selected stores, while Iceland launched a similar retail security trial.
Erie County chose a restrictive approach that goes beyond requiring signs or consumer consent for active collection. Businesses holding covered customer data when the law began were directed to disclose and eliminate it, giving the consumer protection department an enforcement role.
The response count provides an early measure of how businesses have engaged with the new requirements during the initial reporting period. Erie County’s consumer protection department is responsible for receiving the disclosures and enforcing the law’s civil penalties.
Sources: Spectrum News 1, Erie County
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
