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St. Louis, MO Privacy & Surveillance: Facial Recognition Ban (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Scope
Automated red-light and speed camera program
Adopted
April 16, 2024 (Ord. No. 71821)
Core rule
No AI/facial recognition used to ID drivers
Vendor rule
Cannot share footage with AI systems
Supervising agency
SLMPD and Board of Public Service

Summary

St. Louis prohibits police and its camera vendor from using artificial intelligence or facial recognition to identify drivers caught by red-light and speed cameras, or sharing captured images with such systems.

An authorized employee may use any lawful means to identify an individual allegedly violating City ordinance or state law, but in no instance shall artificial intelligence systems, as defined in 17.07.010, be used to identify the individual.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 11).

Full Breakdown

St. Louis's automated camera enforcement ordinance, adopted in 2024 for red-light and speed cameras, bars the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and its camera vendor from ever using artificial intelligence or facial recognition systems to identify a driver, and from sharing recorded images or data with any AI system, including facial recognition, or with any other electronic surveillance program of citizens. Officers may use any other lawful method to establish who was driving, but probable cause for a citation can never rest on an AI-based identification. The vendor operating the cameras is bound by the identical restriction and can never sell or exchange the recorded footage for anything of value.

Violations & Fines

No citizen penalty attaches to the AI ban itself; it binds SLMPD and the vendor as an operating rule, enforced through the vendor contract, the Board of Public Service's oversight, and the program's required annual public assessment to the Board of Aldermen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does St. Louis use facial recognition on its traffic cameras?
No. City ordinance bars SLMPD and its camera vendor from using facial recognition or any AI system to identify drivers caught by red-light or speed cameras, or from sharing footage with such systems.
Does this ban cover St. Louis police facial recognition use generally?
No: it only covers the automated camera enforcement program under Chapter 17.07 (red-light and speed cameras); it does not address other SLMPD facial recognition use.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in St. Louis

License Plate ReadersSignificant RestrictionsParking Rules: Towing & Impound RightsSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Loading ZonesSignificant RestrictionsParking Rules: EV ChargingSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Preferential Parking DistrictsSignificant RestrictionsFence Regulations: Fence Permit RequirementsSome RestrictionsFire Regulations: Smoke DetectorsSome Restrictions

All St. Louis rules

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