Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act (S. 4084 / H.R. 7356, reintroduced through 2023) — DIED
United States · S. 4084 (2020) / S. 2052 (2021) / S. 681 (2023) — never marked up
Sens. Markey, Merkley, Sanders, Warren, and Wyden and Reps. Jayapal, Pressley, and Tlaib first introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act on June 25, 2020 — and reintroduced it in 2021 and 2023. It would have banned all federal agency use of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies, and conditioned federal grants on state/local moratoriums. Never received committee action across three congresses.
Technical detail
S. 4084 (116th, 2020) / S. 2052 (117th, 2021) / S. 681 (118th, 2023) — would have (1) prohibited federal entity use of biometric surveillance, including facial recognition, voice recognition, gait recognition, and other biometric systems; (2) conditioned Byrne JAG funding on state/local moratoriums; (3) created a private right of action against federal violations. Referred to Senate Judiciary; House versions referred to House Judiciary. No markup.
Who is protected: All Americans subject to federal-agency biometric surveillance (would have)
Who must comply: Federal agencies (would have); states/localities conditionally
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | United States |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | Expired |
| Protection strength | Unknown |
| Citation | S. 4084 (2020) / S. 2052 (2021) / S. 681 (2023) — never marked up |
| Enforced by | Would have been federal courts via private right of action |
| Private right of action | Yes — individuals can sue |
| Topics | facial recognition · biometric data · police and surveillance AI · government use of AI |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | S. 681 — Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2023 ↗ |
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