Kansas City, MO Privacy & Surveillance: Facial Recognition Ban (2026)
Key Facts
- AI/facial recognition
- Barred from identifying camera-caught drivers
- Data sharing
- No camera data to any AI system
- Scope
- Automated traffic camera program only
- Administered by
- Public Works Dept. and city prosecutor
- Citation
- Code of Ordinances § 70-961
Summary
Kansas City's automated traffic camera law bars authorized employees from using artificial intelligence or facial recognition to identify drivers, and prohibits sharing camera images or data with any AI or facial-recognition system, per Sec. 70-961.
An authorized employee may use any lawful means to identify an individual allegedly violating any city ordinance or state law, but in no instance shall artificial intelligence systems, as defined in section 70-961(a), be used to identify the individual. ... In no instance shall anyone provide access to, share, or otherwise make available or accessible the recorded images and other data collected through the city's automated camera enforcement system to or for: a. Any artificial intelligence system, as defined by section 70-961(a), including, but not limited to facial recognition systems;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 139 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 38).
Full Breakdown
Kansas City's automated camera enforcement ordinance (the red-light and speed cameras run by the Public Works Department) lets authorized city employees review recorded images to establish probable cause, but Sec. 70-961(e) flatly bars using artificial intelligence systems - a term defined to expressly include facial recognition - to identify a driver. Sec. 70-961(g)(2)a goes further, forbidding anyone from sharing the camera images or data with any AI or facial-recognition system, or with any party who is not an authorized employee. The restriction is specific to this camera program; it does not reach KCPD's other investigative tools.
Violations & Fines
The ordinance sets no separate fine for violating the AI restriction itself; instead, an identification made using AI cannot establish probable cause, which voids the resulting traffic citation, and sharing camera data with any AI system is barred outright regardless of purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Kansas City use facial recognition to catch red-light runners?
Does this ban cover all KCPD facial recognition use citywide?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kansas City
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