Privacy & Surveillance in New York, NY (2026)
3 verified privacy & surveillance rules for New York, New York, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Recording & Consent Laws
New York City law gives anyone the explicit right to record NYPD officers performing police activities and to keep the recording and the device used, with officer interference punishable by a private lawsuit.
NYC Right to Record Police
Few RestrictionsNew York City Administrative Code § 14-189
A person may record police activities and maintain custody and control of any such recording and of any property or instruments used in such recording. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit a person to engage in actions that physically interfere with an official and lawful police function, or to prevent the seizure of any property or instruments used in a recording of police acti...
Facial Recognition Ban
New York City does not ban facial recognition. Under Administrative Code § 22-1202, commercial establishments that scan faces or collect other biometric identifiers must post a conspicuous sign at every customer entrance, and selling or profiting from that biometric data is flatly prohibited.
NYC Biometric Notice Law, Not a Facial-Recognition Ban
Some RestrictionsN.Y.C. Admin. Code § 22-1202
Any commercial establishment that collects, retains, converts, stores or shares biometric identifier information of customers must disclose such collection, retention, conversion, storage or sharing, as applicable, by placing a clear and conspicuous sign near all of the commercial establishment's customer entrances notifying customers in plain, simple language ... that customers' biometric iden...
License Plate Readers
New York City's POST Act treats license plate readers as surveillance technology: NYPD must post a public impact-and-use policy, take 45 days of comments, and disclose whether ALPR data reaches ICE or Customs and Border Protection.
NYC ALPR Oversight Under the POST Act
Some RestrictionsNew York City Administrative Code § 14-188
Such policy shall identify whether the department has any actual knowledge that law enforcement agencies with access to such data share such data with United States immigration and customs enforcement or United States customs and border protection and under which circumstances. Such policy shall also identify which measures, if any, the department takes to minimize the risk of such data being u...