House Bill Would Require Warrants for Government Biometric Scanning in Public Spaces

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would require federal, state, and local law enforcement to obtain warrants before conducting biometric scanning in public spaces, marking one of the broadest proposals to date for restricting government use of surveillance biometrics.

The Surveillance Accountability Act, designated HR 8470, was introduced by Representatives Thomas Massie and Lauren Boebert. The legislation targets the warrantless collection of facial images, faceprints, gait data, and voice biometrics by any level of government in any publicly accessible location.

Beyond biometric scanning, the bill would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before purchasing location data from commercial data brokers, closing what privacy advocates have described as a loophole that allows authorities to acquire tracking data without judicial oversight. The bill also creates a civil cause of action for individuals whose Fourth Amendment rights are violated under its provisions, allowing affected parties to seek damages in federal court.

The proposal arrives amid intensifying debate over government biometric capabilities. Congress recently approved billions in biometric and AI funding for border surveillance, while the Department of Homeland Security operates a facial recognition app drawing from a 1.2 billion image database. Multiple states have moved to restrict or regulate biometric data collection independently, with an Illinois bill that would have banned most police biometric systems recently stalling in committee.

HR 8470 would apply to all public spaces, not just specific contexts like housing or airports. The warrant requirement extends to both real-time biometric surveillance and retrospective analysis of previously collected biometric data. Covered biometric identifiers include facial geometry, fingerprints, voiceprints, iris scans, gait characteristics, and any other physical characteristic used for automated identification.

The bill’s sponsors framed it as a Fourth Amendment protection measure. Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican, and Boebert join a growing number of lawmakers from both parties who have introduced legislation to restrict warrantless biometric data collection. Civil liberties organizations have broadly supported warrant requirements for biometric searches, while law enforcement groups have argued such mandates could hamper time-sensitive investigations involving suspects identified through surveillance footage.

Sources: Congress.gov, Rep. Massie

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By Ali Nassar-Smith