Facial recognition changes power balance of protests

Spreading facial recognition technology - according to figures from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, government agencies in 78 countries use facial recognition systems - is changing the risk of participating in protests by making it impossible to count on being anonymous or in a group too large to arrest. In one example, police in Moscow reportedly use facial recognition to identify and preemptively arrest people who might be on their way to join protests. In other cases, protesters are targeted later at their homes. The result is a fundamental shift in the power balance between the public and law enforcement. 

https://restofworld.org/2024/facial-recognition-government-protest-surveillance/

Publication: Rest of World

Writer: Darren Loucaides

Publication date: 2024-03-27