AI Frontier Institute

Prohibiting state agencies and local governmental units from using facial recognition technology or data generated from it.

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Wisconsin Assembly Bill 575 (2025-2026) would have created section 995.80 of the statutes to bar state agencies and local governmental units from using facial recognition technology or data generated from it. Section 995.80(1) defines facial recognition technology as an automated system that takes a digital image or video frame of a person's face from camera footage and compares it against a database of faces to identify matches. It also defines "local governmental unit" (political subdivisions, special purpose districts, their agencies or corporations, and combinations or subunits) and "state agency" (any body in state government created by the constitution or law). Section 995.80(2) sets out the prohibition. The Legislative Reference Bureau analysis says the ban applies "for any purpose", but the bill text itself includes one exception: use to identify the entity's own employees for employment-related purposes. The bill was introduced October 24, 2025 and referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety. It failed to pass on March 23, 2026 under Senate Joint Resolution 1 and did not become law.

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