Ban Government Use of Facial Recognition Technology in New York

I need you to support legislation banning government use of facial recognition technology in New York State. This technology is destroying innocent lives without accountability. Angela Lipps, a Tennessee grandmother, spent five months in jail after Clearview AI identified her as a bank fraud suspect in North Dakota—a state she had never visited. Police arrested her at gunpoint based solely on the AI match and a detective's visual comparison. No one checked her bank records, phone location, or alibi before locking her up. She lost her home, car, and dog. Her attorney proved she was 1,200 miles away when the crimes occurred. Fargo Police still haven't apologized and claim the investigation is "ongoing." Lipps is the 13th known wrongful arrest from facial recognition, and cases are accelerating: five occurred in 2025 alone. The actual number is likely far higher since departments don't have to disclose when they use this technology. Clearview AI's own contracts require officers to verify identities, yet detectives repeatedly skip basic investigative work and arrest people on AI matches alone. Cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Minneapolis have already banned government facial recognition. New York needs a statewide ban before more innocent people lose months of their lives to algorithmic errors.