Human Rights Watch
29 Sep 2023, 23:39 GMT+10
We are at a fork in the road regarding states' approaches to facial recognition surveillance. On the one hand, governments in places like Israel and the United Kingdom are progressing plans to roll out widespread use of this powerful biometric technology. On the other hand, the latest draft of the European Union's AI Act reveals an increased commitment to banning its use in public spaces.
This week, Human Rights Watch joined 180 rights groups and other experts calling on governments and companies to stop using facial recognition surveillance technology in public spaces and in migration and asylum contexts, as it is simply too dangerous and powerful to be used without negative consequences for human rights.
Facial recognition surveillance technology - the kind that scans, identifies, and profiles people en masse - is not compatible with international human rights law, as it amounts to mass surveillance. As well as undermining privacy rights, the technology threatens our rights to equality and nondiscrimination, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly.
In 2020, some of the big tech companies pledged a moratorium on selling facial recognition surveillance tech, in response to rights concerns, but self-regulation simply doesn't work and at least one of those companies may now be rolling back on that commitment.
Meanwhile, facial recognition surveillance tech is increasingly used by governments to surveil protests, target people based on their ethnicity, and curb political dissent. As with much technology, it exacerbates existing structural inequities and hits people with marginalized and vulnerable identities hardest.
There is no safe use-case for this technology on our streets or at our borders. We urgently need governments to step up and ban facial recognition surveillance in these spaces, and companies to stop creating and using this powerful tech for surveillance purposes.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Get a daily dose of Israel Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Israel Herald.
More InformationNASSAU, The Bahamas: The Bahamas police says a woman from the U.S. died after she was attacked by a shark ...
BEIJING, China: President Xi Jinping is set to visit Vietnam on December 12 and 13, where he will engage with ...
WASHINGTON, DC - Within hours of blocking a UN Security Council resolution from demanding a ceasefire in the current Mideast ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a sign of the challenges ahead for his 2024 re-election bid, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that ...
Israel has acknowledged and thanked the United States and President Joe Biden for standing firmly by Israel's side at the ...
NEW YORK: This week, New York City officials said that one person was killed and six others were injured when ...
TOKYO, Japan: Japan, Britain, and Italy are set to establish a new collaborative organization and industry group dedicated to developing ...
LOS ANGELES, California: This week, members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union approved a three-year contract with major studios, formally ending ...
LAS VEGAS, Nevada: The U.S. Transportation Department has allocated US$3 billion for a $12 billion Las Vegas to Southern California ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. gasoline prices could fall below US$3 a gallon for the first time since 2021 and are currently ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: To fix issues that could lead to further bank failures in the U.S., such as the collapse of ...
ARLINGTON, Virginia: This week, Reuters reported that Boeing delivered 46 narrowbody 737s jets in November. The total brings the U.S. ...