Tech bills of the week: Restricting biometric use; expanding the quantum workforce; and more

Moratorium on facial recognition for ICE 

A bicameral, Democratic-led bill is looking to restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s use of biometric technology, namely facial recognition systems, as the agency continues its mass deportation operations across the country.

Introduced Feb. 5 by Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the ICE Out of Our Faces Act aims to place a broad prohibition on the acquisition and use of facial recognition and other biometric technologies by ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It also calls for the deletion of all biometric data collected by a covered immigration officer and creates legal recourse for individuals who believe their biometric data was unlawfully harnessed.

“This frictionless mass surveillance is the stuff of nightmares, and it raises serious questions about how the Trump administration developed and tested this technology, how often officers ...