Law / United States / 
Maine
Facial surveillance: limits on use by state, county and municipal departments, public employees and public officials
In force since .
A biometric privacy rule binding government bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Obligation class
- Biometric, Prohibition, Access restriction, Retention
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- If you are a Maine state, county or municipal government, a department, agency or subdivision of one, or another public instrumentality, including a law enforcement agency, or one of its employees or officials, do not obtain, retain, possess, access, request or use a facial surveillance system or information derived from a search of one, except as the section allows (25 M.R.S. 6001(2)(A)(1)).
- Do not enter into an agreement with a 3rd party to obtain, retain, possess, access or use a facial surveillance system or information derived from a search of one on your behalf, and do not issue a permit or enter into another agreement that authorizes a 3rd party to do so (25 M.R.S. 6001(2)(A)(2) and (3)).
- Request a search of a facial surveillance system, and use its results, only to investigate a serious crime when there is probable cause to believe that an unidentified individual in an image has committed it, to assist in identifying a person who is deceased or believed to be deceased, or to assist in identifying a missing or endangered person, or, where the Bureau of Motor Vehicles makes the request, to perform a duty paragraph D(1) allows, and make the request as paragraph C directs, to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for the system within the State (25 M.R.S. 6001(2)(B) and (C)).
- If you are the State Police or the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, maintain logs that track all requests for searches of facial surveillance systems that you receive and perform pursuant to paragraph C (25 M.R.S. 6001(2)(F)).
- Treat facial surveillance data collected or derived in violation of the section by a department, public employee or public official as unlawfully obtained and, except as otherwise provided by law, delete it upon discovery (25 M.R.S. 6001(3)(A)(1)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What record it asks for
Who may demand the log
Public
What the log must hold
Event time, Actor identity, Access record
Logging duty
The State Police and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles must keep logs that track all requests for facial surveillance searches they receive and perform pursuant to paragraph C. The de-identified logs, which show the date, the requesting employee or official and department, the databases searched, the statutory offense and the race and sex of the person under investigation, are public records. The section names no retention period.
- Kind
- Explicit
- As of
- Provision
- 25 M.R.S. 6001(2)(F)
- Trigger
- personal_data_processing
What this law does
The chapter defines a department as a state, county or municipal government or a department, agency or subdivision of one, or any other entity identified in law as a public instrumentality, including a law enforcement agency. Except as the section allows, a department, public employee or public official may not obtain, retain, possess, access, request or use a facial surveillance system or information derived from a search of one.
A department, public employee or public official may not enter into an agreement with a 3rd party to obtain, retain, possess, access or use a facial surveillance system or information derived from a search of one on its behalf.
A department, public employee or public official may request a search of a facial surveillance system, and may use the results, to investigate a serious crime when there is probable cause to believe that an unidentified individual in an image has committed it, to assist in identifying a person who is deceased or believed to be deceased, or to assist in identifying a missing or endangered person.
A request for a search of the facial surveillance system within the State must be made to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The prohibition does not bar use of a facial surveillance system within the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in accordance with title 29-A, section 1401, subsection 9 of the Maine Revised Statutes or for fraud prevention or investigation, or the use of iris technology in a regional jail or county jail.
Facial surveillance data does not, without other evidence, establish probable cause justifying arrest, search or seizure.
The State Police and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles must maintain logs that track all requests for searches of facial surveillance systems received and performed pursuant to paragraph C. De-identified logs of those requests, showing the date, the requesting employee or official and department, the databases searched, the statutory offense and the race and sex of the person under investigation, are public records under title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1 of the Maine Revised Statutes.
Facial surveillance data collected or derived in violation of the section by a department or a public employee or public official acting in the performance of their official duties must be considered unlawfully obtained and, except as otherwise provided by law, must be deleted upon discovery.
Facial surveillance data collected or derived in violation of the section by a department or a public employee or public official acting in the performance of their official duties is inadmissible in evidence in any proceeding in or before any public official, department, regulatory body or authority.
A person injured or aggrieved by a violation of the section may bring an action in a court in Maine against the department, public employee or public official having possession, custody or control of the data and may seek injunctive or declaratory relief or a writ of mandamus. A public employee or public official who violates the section in the performance of their official duties may be subject to disciplinary action, including retraining, suspension or termination.
Public Law 2021, chapter 394 enacted section 6001. Public Law 2021, chapter 394 provides that the Act takes effect .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app processes biometric data or processes personal data.
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