Onondaga County considers signs to alert shoppers to biometric surveillance

Facial recognition, fingerprint scans and voiceprints could soon have to be spelled out at the door of stores across Onondaga County, so shoppers know they are being monitored before they walk in. The county’s draft Biometric Data Collection Customer Transparency Law would require a clear and conspicuous sign near all entrances of businesses that collect or use biometric identifier information.

The proposal goes beyond notice. It would bar commercial establishments from selling, trading, sharing for value or otherwise profiting from customers’ biometric data, and it defines that data broadly to include retina or iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, hand geometry scans, face geometry scans and similar identifying traits. Government agencies acting within their official duties would be exempt.

Legislator Nodesia Hernandez pressed the case for disclosure during committee discussion, saying she is worried about customer privacy and the possibility of private data being sold to third parties. The central issue, Hernandez argued, is simple: people should know when a system can identify them and potentially track them. No vote was taken at the committee meeting, leaving the measure as a proposal for now.

The debate has become more concrete as Wegmans and other retailers have begun posting biometric notices in New York City. Signs at Wegmans stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn told customers that biometric data may be collected for the safety and security of patrons and employees. The company said only a small fraction of its stores use the technology, which it says is aimed at identifying people previously flagged for misconduct on the premises.

That real-world rollout has sharpened the local conversation in Syracuse and across the county. County documents show the Public Safety Committee discussed the measure on Feb. 17, and February reporting said lawmakers were aiming for a vote by March while enforcement details were still being worked out. One version under discussion would give businesses 30 days to post signs before fines apply, with one warning followed by a $500 penalty for a second offense and $1,000 for a third.

The proposal was modeled in part on Erie County’s biometric notice law, signaling that Onondaga County is weighing a familiar regulatory approach: not banning the technology outright, but forcing businesses to disclose it clearly. For shoppers, the difference could be as basic as a sign on the door, but for retailers using biometric systems for security, it could mean a new compliance burden and public scrutiny of how much surveillance is built into everyday commerce.