A group of U.S. lawmakers has reintroduced legislation that would bar federal agencies from acquiring or using facial-recognition and other biometric-surveillance systems unless Congress specifically authorized their use. The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2026 is a proposal, not a restriction currently in force.
Senators Edward Markey and Jeff Merkley joined Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley in announcing the renewed measure. Its core provision would prevent federal agencies and their contractors from accessing or using a biometric-surveillance system in an official capacity, including information generated by a system run by someone else. The geographic definition explicitly includes airports, ports of entry and border zones in the United States.
The proposed definition covers software that identifies people from live feeds, recordings or photographs using facial or other biometric recognition. It also encompasses voice recognition and the recognition of gait or other immutable traits that can be assessed from a distance. Fingerprint or palm-print identification that is not performed from a distance is expressly excluded from the bill’s definition of other biometric recognition.
Congress could permit a specified use through a separate law, but the authorization would have to name the permitted entities, biometric type and purposes. It would also need rules on retention, sharing, access, audit trails, accuracy and civil-rights protections. The bill would also prohibit federal law-enforcement spending on biometric-surveillance systems.
State and local governments would not face the same direct federal ban. Instead, the bill would make them ineligible for Byrne public-safety grants unless they adopted substantially similar restrictions. It also proposes a right for affected individuals to sue over violations and would generally bar the federal government from using improperly obtained biometric information in judicial proceedings.
The proposed limits come as public agencies continue to buy and deploy facial comparison tools. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has sought facial-comparison services for Global Entry airport processing, while Gadsden, Alabama, approved police access to Clearview AI face search. The federal bill would address agency use and certain grant conditions rather than directly void every local agreement.
The text preserves the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s ability to test or research biometric-surveillance systems. It also allows federal, state and local governments to retain laws that impose stricter limits than the proposed act.
Sources: Senator Jeff Merkley, Proposed bill text
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
