Tech Bills of the Week: Civil Rights Offices for AI; Expanding Veterans' Education; and Curtailing ICE’s Biometric Use
(NextGov, Jan 16, 2026)
The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee introduced a bill to curtail Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s use of a facial recognition app to verify the identities of individuals and their citizenship status.
U.S. Biometric Laws & Pending Legislation Tracker
(JD Supra, Jan 16, 2026)
Existing legislation has led to a boon of class action litigation against employers, consumer-facing businesses, and technology companies for claimed violations of biometric privacy rights.
Only 28% of Crypto Firms Rely on MFA as AI Fraud Drives a Shift to Biometric Identity Verification
(Identity Week, Jan 16, 2026)
That gap is increasingly reflected in the types of fraud crypto firms are encountering. When asked which forms of identity verification fraud they see most frequently, respondents cite biometric fraud – including the use of fake or stolen biometric data – and document fraud involving counterfeit or altered documents, each named by 35% of respondents. The findings suggest that attackers are targeting both biometric signals and identity documents, rather than relying solely on traditional account compromise.
To Forecast Agentic Commerce Adoption, Look to Biometrics and Digital IDs
(Payments Journal, Jan 16, 2026)
To date, adoption has largely been limited to pilots and trial runs within defined use cases. These range from iris-scanning programs tied to exclusive Visa cards to facial recognition systems used for venue entry and concessions at the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium.
And Finally… His Sister’s Keeper
(Irish Legal News, Jan 16, 2026)
Mr Nunes’ sister, Janaina Reis Miron, was arrested yesterday after being identified by Smart Sampa cameras, Brazilian news website g1 reports.
