# Governmental entities must not use AI for biometric identification from public data without consent where it infringes rights

- **Record type**: Obligation
- **Instrument**: Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (HB 149, 89th Legislature)
- **Jurisdiction**: Texas (United States)
- **Category**: prohibited_practice
- **Binding**: Yes
- **Applies from**: 2026-01-01
- **Provision**: Business and Commerce Code Section 551.054

## What the duty requires

A governmental entity may not develop or deploy an AI system for the purpose of uniquely identifying a specific individual using biometric data, or of gathering images or other media from the internet or another public source without the individual's consent, where doing so would infringe a right guaranteed under the United States or Texas constitutions or violate state or federal law. The Act preserves lawful uses that comply with existing biometric-privacy law.

## What an organisation does about it

Require legal sign-off on lawful basis and constitutional review before any agency biometric-matching or public-image scraping project.

## Controls that meet this duty

- Privacy and data-protection controls for AI (supports): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/privacy-and-data-protection-for-ai
- Prohibited and unacceptable-use screening gate (satisfies): https://aipolicytracker.org/controls/prohibited-use-screening-gate

## Parent instrument

- Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (HB 149, 89th Legislature)
  - Record: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/us-texas-responsible-ai-governance-act-traiga
  - Context file: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/us-texas-responsible-ai-governance-act-traiga.md

## Provenance

- **Record page**: https://aipolicytracker.org/obligations/us-texas-responsible-ai-governance-act-traiga-government-biometric-identification-prohibition
- **Official source**: https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB149
- **Provision**: Business and Commerce Code Section 551.054
- **Review status**: pending review
- **Confidence**: high
- **Facts last confirmed**: never confirmed against the official source
- **Retrieved**: 2026-09-24
- **Licence**: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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