Biometrics: UK food bank users swap face scans for free food
Charities say digital cash transfers give users autonomy, while digital rights groups argue that biometric data can put vulnerable people at risk. LIN TAYLOR, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Essay: Facial recognition, migrants and techism
MAL FLETCHER, writing from London, argues that law-makers are focusing too much on technology, relying on it as the main prism through which to observe and evaluate human behaviour…
Landmark UK court ruling finds police use of facial recognition unlawful
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation A British court said on Tuesday that a police force’s use of facial recognition to hunt for suspects was unlawful, in a ruling that privacy campaigners hailed as a “major victory” in their fight against the surveillance technology. In a case that judges described last year as the first of its […]
DIGITAL SURVEILLANCE: “WILD WEST” – CAUTION URGED ON FACIAL RECOGNITION ROLLOUT IN US SCHOOLS
MATTHEW LAVIETES, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Indian police use facial recognition app to reunite families with lost children
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Indian police have reunited thousands of missing and trafficked children with their families using a new facial recognition app that campaigners said was a “game changer” in tackling the problem. Tens of thousands of children go missing every year in India and many are trafficked to work in eateries, handicraft industries, […]
British watchdog urges caution over police facial recognition plans
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Britain’s surveillance watchdog urged the government to set up inspections of police on Tuesday, amid concern over the growing use of facial recognition technology to locate offenders. The government’s Surveillance Camera Commissioner Tony Porter said it was not clear that the right balance between privacy and security was being struck, accusing […]
Tea, buses and elections: Seven uses of facial recognition that sparked debate in 2019
Tbilisi, GeorgiaThomson Reuters Foundation From identifying voters in Afghanistan to speeding up service for tea lovers in India, the use of facial recognition surged in 2019 with expectations that it will become even more widespread next year, fuelling concerns over misuse. There has been growing global debate over the technology, with supporters saying it can […]
Facial recognition at Indian cafe chain sparks calls for data protection law
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation The use of facial recognition technology at a popular Indian cafe chain that triggered a backlash among customers, led to calls from human rights advocates on Monday for the government to speed up the introduction of laws to protect privacy. Customers at Chaayos took to social media during the last week […]
Votes for women? Not without facial recognition technology in Afghanistan
Kabul, AfghanistanThomson Reuters Foundation The first female founder of an Afghan political party has urged the country to rethink the use of facial recognition technology in elections amid concerns it stopped large numbers of women from voting this year. Authorities photographed all voters in September’s presidential election and used facial recognition software, a measure designed […]
Mass surveillance fears as India readies facial recognition system
New Delhi, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation As India prepares to install a nationwide facial recognition system in an effort to catch criminals and find missing children, human rights and technology experts on Thursday warned of the risks to privacy and from increased surveillance. Use of the camera technology is an effort in “modernising the police force, […]