On January 6th, the first day of the New York
legislature's 2021 session, NY lawmakers proposed Assembly Bill 27 (AB 27), the
Biometric Privacy Act. The legislative purpose of AB 27 is to
provide safeguards for consumers regarding their biometric
identifiers, such as fingerprints, handprints, retina or iris
scans, voiceprints, and other facial and hand recognition.
Effectively, the proposed Act would require private
(non-governmental) organizations that possess a biometric
identifier or biometric information (i.e., information "based
on" a biometric identifier) (collectively "biometric
data") to develop a written retention policy setting forth the
time period for information containing biometric data, as well as
guidelines for permanently destroying such biometric data either
when: (i) the initial purpose for obtaining such information
"has been satisfied," or (ii) within three years of the
individual's last interaction with the private entity,
whichever happens first.
