Pittsburgh, PA Privacy & Surveillance: Facial Recognition Ban (2026)
Key Facts
- Regulated agency
- Department of Public Safety
- Approval mechanism
- City Council resolution required
- Emergency exception
- 90 days, then 30-day notice
- Enacted
- Ord. No. 31-2020, eff. 9-24-2020
Summary
Pittsburgh bars its Department of Public Safety from acquiring, retaining, accessing, or using facial recognition or predictive policing technology without a City Council resolution approving it, subject only to a narrow 90-day exigent-circumstances exception.
The Department of Public Safety shall not obtain, retain, access, or use Facial Recognition Technology or Predictive Policing Technology, or make use of information collected, captured, recorded, retained, processed, intercepted, analyzed, derived, or effected through the use of Select Surveillance Technology by another entity without the approval of City Council, or unless permitted through the stipulations of this Section.
(2) (Reserved)
(3) Approval by City Council shall take the form of a Resolution.
(4) In seeking approval to obtain, retain, access, or use Select Surveillance Technology or make use of information collected, captured, recorded, retained, processed, intercepted, analyzed, derived, or effected through the use of Select Surveillance Technology by another entity, the Department of Public Safety shall communicate, to the greatest extent possible and permissible by law, the following to City Council:
a. The specific purposes for which the Select Surveillance Technology is sought, the objective(s) that its use would advance, and the duration of use for which approval is sought;
b. A general description of the information and data that would be collected;
c.
Full Breakdown
Under Pittsburgh Code § 116.15, the Department of Public Safety cannot obtain, retain, access, or use Facial Recognition Technology or Predictive Policing Technology -- or data derived from either by another entity -- unless City Council first approves by resolution after reviewing the purpose, data handled, authorized users, safeguards, and retention schedule. Body cameras, most fixed security and traffic cameras, and city databases without facial-recognition or predictive-policing components are expressly excluded from the restriction. In a genuine emergency threatening imminent death, injury, or major property loss, the Department may use the technology for up to 90 days without prior Council approval, but must notify Council within 30 days.
Violations & Fines
No penalty schedule is set; the ordinance instead requires Council pre-approval by resolution before any qualifying use, plus 30-day notice after any emergency use, with a court-recognized private right of action for related rights violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Pittsburgh police use facial recognition technology?
Do body cameras or traffic cameras count as facial recognition surveillance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pittsburgh
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