Maine law restricts facial recognition technology statewide

A bill touted as the country’s strictest statewide regulation on the use of facial recognition technology has become law in Maine.

While several states regulate facial recognition as a surveillance tool, the Maine law represents a broad prohibition of the technology at the state, county and municipal government levels, with limited exceptions for law enforcement purposes, officials said.

The ACLU of Maine said it’s the strongest statewide facial recognition regulation in the country, and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Grayson Lookner, called it “a huge victory for privacy rights and civil liberties in Maine.”

“I hope that Maine can provide an example to other states that want to rein in the government’s ability to use facial recognition and other invasive biometric technologies,” said Lookner, D-Portland.

The bill became law without the governor’s signature.