Erie County lawmakers are considering new rules that would force businesses to be upfront about using biometric technology, like facial or voice recognition.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County lawmakers are proposing new legislation that would regulate how businesses collect and use biometric data, following reports that a Wegmans store in New York City used facial recognition and other biometric technologies.

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Legislator Lindsay Lorigo is proposing the Customer Biometric Privacy Act, which would require businesses to clearly disclose when they collect biometric data from customers. The proposal responds to the increasing use of technologies — such as facial and voice recognition — in commercial settings.

“This proposal isn’t about stopping technology — it’s about transparency,” Lorigo said in a statement. “Every day we choose to opt in when we share personal information through our phones or apps. When biometric data is being collected in a store, customers should have that same awareness.”

Legislator Lawrence J. Dupre has introduced his own Biometrics Transparency and Privacy Act. It, too, would require businesses to clearly notify customers when collecting biometric data and would ban the sale or monetization of that information.

The proposal follows reports that Wegmans and other retailers have been using facial recognition technology without customers’ awareness.

“If you’re walking into a store in Erie County and that business is scanning your face or collecting your voiceprint, you have a right to know about it before you walk through the door,” Dupre said in a statement. “This is about basic transparency and respect for consumers.

“Biometric data is uniquely sensitive, you can’t change your face like you change a password. People deserve to know when it’s being collected, and they deserve protection against it being sold to the highest bidder.”

Erie County lawmakers on Tuesday said they were weighing possible changes to local law after a Wegmans store in New York City posted signs alerting customers that biometric data may be used, prompting new questions about transparency in Western New York.