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May 26, 2026 Clouds | 79°F
The 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Bill S.1053 194th (Current)

An Act to implement the recommendations of the special commission on facial recognition technology

By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1053) of Cynthia Stone Creem, Joanne M. Comerford, Rebecca L. Rausch, Michael J. Barrett and others for legislation to implement the recommendations of the special commission on facial recognition technology. The Judiciary.

Bill Information

Presenter:
Cynthia Stone Creem
Status:
Referred to Senate Committee on Ways and Means

This legislation would codify the recommendations of the Special Commission to Evaluate Government Use of Facial Recognition Technology in the Commonwealth. Notably, this bill would require police to obtain a warrant prior to using a facial recognition database, in non-emergency situations. This additional check on the use of this technology will help make sure it is only being used in appropriate circumstances. And, to protect the rights of criminal defendants, this bill would require that criminal defendants identified using facial recognition software are notified if their identification was procured using the technology. This legislation would also direct the Massachusetts State Police to create a centralized unit to receive and evaluate law enforcement requests to use the facial recognition database, which will improve reliability and transparency.

* The bill summary was created by the Primary Sponsor of the bill; no committee of the General Court certifies the accuracy of its contents.

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