New York bans facial recognition in schools after report finds risks outweigh potential benefits

By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press

New York state has banned facial recognition technology in schools. The announcement by Education Commissioner Betty Rosa on Wednesday follows a report that concluded the risks outweigh potential security benefits. Lawmakers earlier banned facial recognition while awaiting results of a state analysis weighing the pros and cons. Issued last month, that report cited the potentially higher rate of false positives for people of color and noted that most school shooters have been current students who would not necessarily have been stopped. Schools can decide on their own whether to use other biometric technology, such as digital fingerprinting.