Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2026 (H.R. 10563)

Properties

jurisdiction: US, federal
level: federal
domain: privacy
status: proposed
scope: Federal bill that would prohibit federal agencies and officials from acquiring, possessing, accessing, or using biometric surveillance systems (including facial recognition) in the United States absent explicit statutory authorization, and would withhold certain federal public safety grants from state and local governments that engage in biometric surveillance.
obligations: It is unlawful for any federal agency or federal official, in an official capacity, to acquire, possess, access, or use in the United States a biometric surveillance system or information derived from one, unless explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress describing with particularity the entities, biometric types, purposes, data standards, accuracy auditing, due process protections, and compliance mechanisms; state and local governments that engage in biometric surveillance risk losing certain federal public safety grants.
effectiveDate: TBD
appliesTo: Federal agencies and officials; state and local governments receiving certain federal public safety grants
officialUrl: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr10563ih
notes: Introduced September 24, 2026 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), with cosponsors including Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley; referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary and on Oversight and Government Reform. Not yet passed by either chamber. The bill text defines a biometric surveillance system as software that performs facial recognition or other biometric recognition, and facial recognition as an automated or semi-automated process that identifies, matches, or infers characteristics of an individual; the bill's operative text does not use the literal phrase 'artificial intelligence,' but facial and biometric recognition are AI-enabled pattern-recognition technologies, and this dataset already tracks a facial-recognition-specific law on the same basis (md-facial-recognition-employment, Maryland's facial recognition interview law). A version of this bill (under similar titles) has been reintroduced in prior Congresses without becoming law; this is treated as a new, separate 2026 introduction because it is not currently in the baseline. Distinct from md-facial-recognition-employment (private employer use in interviews) and take-it-down-act (deepfakes/NCII): this is a federal-agency-use prohibition and a state/local grant-conditioning mechanism, not an employment or content-takedown rule.

Properties

jurisdiction

US, federal

level

federal

domain

privacy

status

proposed

scope

Federal bill that would prohibit federal agencies and officials from acquiring, possessing, accessing, or using biometric surveillance systems (including facial recognition) in the United States absent explicit statutory authorization, and would withhold certain federal public safety grants from state and local governments that engage in biometric surveillance.

obligations

It is unlawful for any federal agency or federal official, in an official capacity, to acquire, possess, access, or use in the United States a biometric surveillance system or information derived from one, unless explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress describing with particularity the entities, biometric types, purposes, data standards, accuracy auditing, due process protections, and compliance mechanisms; state and local governments that engage in biometric surveillance risk losing certain federal public safety grants.

effectiveDate

TBD

appliesTo

Federal agencies and officials; state and local governments receiving certain federal public safety grants

officialUrl

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr10563ih

notes

Introduced September 24, 2026 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), with cosponsors including Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley; referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary and on Oversight and Government Reform. Not yet passed by either chamber. The bill text defines a biometric surveillance system as software that performs facial recognition or other biometric recognition, and facial recognition as an automated or semi-automated process that identifies, matches, or infers characteristics of an individual; the bill's operative text does not use the literal phrase 'artificial intelligence,' but facial and biometric recognition are AI-enabled pattern-recognition technologies, and this dataset already tracks a facial-recognition-specific law on the same basis (md-facial-recognition-employment, Maryland's facial recognition interview law). A version of this bill (under similar titles) has been reintroduced in prior Congresses without becoming law; this is treated as a new, separate 2026 introduction because it is not currently in the baseline. Distinct from md-facial-recognition-employment (private employer use in interviews) and take-it-down-act (deepfakes/NCII): this is a federal-agency-use prohibition and a state/local grant-conditioning mechanism, not an employment or content-takedown rule.