Lawsuit filed against facial recognition system in New York schools

The New York Civil Liberties Union has sued the New York State Education Department over its decision to approve the installation of a facial recognition system at the Lockport School District. The system, in place since January 2020, scans students’ faces when they walk by the 300 surveillance cameras installed across Lockport’s eight schools. Filed on behalf of parents of Lockport students, the lawsuit argues that the facial recognition system collects, analyses, and retains students’ biometric data, and it breaches privacy rights. It asks for the system to be deactivated and removed from schools.